Iliana
by backstrokin' babe
Summary: Officially on HIATUS. Sorry. A baby girl is born that will change everything in Tortall. What will become of her and her Gift as she grows up? NealxOC and possible OCxOC I realize that doesn't tell you anything. Read and find out!
1. Prologue

Chapter One

**Chapter One**

A scream cut through the air around the cottage, drowned out by the crack of lightning. A dark figure ran to the hut, crouched over, trying to prevent himself to be drenched by the rain pouring down around him.

"What is it?" James said, bursting into the hut.

"It's…coming!" his wife, Celia, panted, letting out another ear-piercing scream.

"But…it's supposed to be another two weeks!" he replied, rushing around, trying to figure out what to do.

"Well, it's coming NOW! Do something!" she screamed back.

"We don't have time to get to a midwife, and they don't make house visits in this weather," he said. "I'll have to deliver it myself."

Rain spattered against the windows, creating an eerie calm for the laboring mother. All that could be heard was the sweet music of the storm and the sounds of James trying to get what he needs.

"I've delivered foals and calves," he said, more to himself than his wife. "I can deliver our baby."

Getting to work assembling hot water and towels, he assured Celia that she and the baby would be ok.

Several hours later, as Celia lay sleeping, James held his child: a baby girl.

"Well, my darling. I can tell already, you are going to be a stubborn one." He said, gazing down at his daughter. "My my. Those are some unusual eyes you have there. I've never seen anyone with emerald eyes."

He looks over to see Celia gazing at him, love and devotion in her eyes.

"Let me…hold my baby…" she whispered.

He stood, careful not to jostle the child that he had just quieted down. Walking over, he laid her gently on his wife's lap. Backing up, he paused to admire the beautiful scene before him.

"My love," Celia whispered to the baby staring up at her. "You will grow up…to be a great warrior. I can feel it in my bones."

"Darling, you must rest more. As soon as the rain goes, I will go into town and fetch Mistress Kanna. She will come and make sure you and the baby are ok," James said, carefully adjusting the pillows and blankets to make his wife more comfortable.

"OK. But before I rest, we must name her."

"Of course. What shall we name this precious gift?" He asked.

"…How about…Iliana?" she whispered, eyes already closing.

"Beautiful. Just beautiful," he said, pulling a damp blanket off of her and replacing it with a fresh one. "Now, sleep, my love."

"Well, this is very unusual. I haven't seen this in our area in years," said Mistress Kanna.

"What is it? Is something wrong with Iliana? Why is she…glowing?" asked James.

"No, it's nothing bad. It's just…I haven't seen one like this since I worked at the palace in Corus," replied Mistress Kanna, calmly holding the newborn Iliana.

"Well then, why is she glowing? And what does that emerald sun on her shoulder mean?"

"Have you heard of the Gift?" asked Mistress Kanna, staring carefully at James's face.

"Well, of course. I had a stable boy that had it once. The Gift is the magic of the people. It isn't entirely common, but I hear lots of people have it," he replied, puzzled at what the Gift had to do with his giggling, glowing daughter.

"Your daughter is one of those that has it. And by the looks of it, hers is both plentiful and somehow special. But I don't know much about the Gift," said Mistress Kanna. "What I would recommend is raise your little girl. There is a woman in town that goes by the name Sheena. She lives behind the temple. When Iliana turns five, take her to Sheena. She will teach her well. When she turns 12, take her to the palace in Corus. A more qualified person will tell you what to do. Should anything…unusual happen before then, take her immediately."

"What do you mean by unusual?" inquired James.

"If she starts doing things without meaning to, like moving objects without touching them. You don't want a powerful mage who can't control her magic," explained Mistress Kanna. "And one more thing. If a stranger ever asks anything of Iliana's Gift, lie. There are people who would bring harm to her, or you, because of it. Now I must go. Mistress Chrissy is ill and needs my help."

"Many thanks, Mistress Kanna," said James, bowing his head in gratitude.

"What did Mistress Kanna say?" asked Celia. She was awake now, sitting up, happily feeding her child, holding little Iliana gently to her breast. The glowing had passed by then. "Is anything wrong with our baby?"

"Not at all, my sweet," James replied, love filling his eyes as he looked at his wife, who was gazing up at him with concern, absently stroking the tufts of dark hair already sprouting from the top of Iliana's head. "In fact, she gave me some...rather good news."

"Well, what is it? Did she explain why Iliana was glowing? And did she tell you about this birthmark? I've never seen one like it."

He pulled up a chair, sinking slowly into it. Drawing a deep breath, he told his wife everything the Mistress Kanna had told him. When he got to the end, the part where she had told him that people might try to hurt them, he paused, searching her eyes. As he said it, a gasp escaped her lips, and she instinctively drew Iliana against her body.

"If such a thing should happen," he rushed to say. "We would surely be able to hide."

"Why would anyone do such a thing?" whispered Celia, incredulous as to why anyone would harm one with a gift from the gods, especially one apparently so precious as this.

"Whatever their reasons, as long as we are careful, no harm shall befall our baby."

"Well, it seems that we have a problem, sir," said a figure shrouded in shadows, deep within a cave overlooking a vast ocean.

"And what is that?" said a voice coming from behind a chair turned towards the cave wall.

"The girl has been born. _'The one born on a rainy day, glowing, with the mark of Mithros in the Mother's own color, shall bring light to all that is dark in Tortall.'_"

"Well, we must do something about that. Where is she?" hissed the figure in the chair.

"…I…don't know," replied the figure in the shadows, sinking deeper into the darkness.

"…What do you mean by that? How can you NOT KNOW!?" screamed the man in the chair. A moment later, there was a bright ruby flash and a scream of pain. "Now find her, or you will end up like my last apprentice…rotting in the king's prison for life. Now go!"

"Yes master," said the shadow-man, rushing out of the cave, careful to avoid the light.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 2**

"Mommy! Look, look! Look what Sheena taught me to do!" yelled an 11-year-old Iliana. As she had grown, her hair had continued to darken, now jet black, but with unusual emerald streaks running through it. Eyes that had once been normal green eyes had brightened to a sparkling emerald which perfectly matched the streaks running through her hair. Full red lips and naturally rosy cheeks perfectly complimented her flawless porcelain skin. A slim, tall figure completed the look. "Watch, Mom, watch."

She pointed to a rock laying about fifteen feet away. With a small grunt and a quiet murmur, the rock slowly lifted off the ground. Smiling, Iliana moved her finger as the rock moved along with it.

"How amazing is that! Sheena said that she knows adults who can't even do this!" giggled Iliana as her mother moved from the window of the cottage to the doorway, then out into the yard.

"That is amazing, but how about you put the rock back and go fetch your father for dinner? And hurry! The roast is getting cold!" said Celia.

"OK!" Iliana replied enthusiastically, saying another word, which caused the rock to drop to the ground. She started to run off into the woods."

"Take Mlina with you!" called Celia, referring to their dog, who was lying on the porch. As Iliana reached the edge of the woods, Mlina got up and ran after her.

Shaking her head, Celia walked back into the house. _'One day, that girl is going to get herself into a mess of trouble,'_ she thought.

"Good evening, Mistress Chrissy. How are you? Have you seen my father around?" Iliana asked, walking down the streets of Tonam near Lake Nixon. It was a small town, but she loved it with all her heart. She couldn't imagine ever leaving it, but she knew that in a couple days, she would turn twelve and, at the advice of Sheena and Mistress Kanna, would go with her father to the palace in Corus to train as a knight and a mage.

"I'm good dear. Thanks for asking. Your father is down at the meat market. I saw him not ten minutes ago," replied Mistress Chrissy, smiling as Iliana and Mlina passed by her.

"Thank you!" called Iliana over her shoulder, breaking into a run towards the meat market.

"Daddy!" called Iliana, peering around the meat market.

"Hey, Iliana. Your father is over there," said the butcher, pointing towards the section designated for selling prices of cattle. James made his living raising cattle.

"Thank you, sir. Tell Penny I say hi," she said. Penny was the butcher's daughter, and Iliana's best friend. She had told Penny already that in a week, she would be leaving for Corus, possibly for good. At first, Penny had been mad that Iliana was leaving her in this forsaken town, but once Iliana had explained, Penny came around. Penny also had the Gift, but hers was naught but a midwives' Gift. She also knew the power of Iliana's Gift, as she was taught by Sheena as well.

"Hey Da! Ma says that we should hurry! She made roast, your favorite!" Iliana said, jogging up to her father and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Ok, honey," he said, wiggling out of her arms and turning around. "Race you home?"

"You're on! Ready...set...GO!" they took off down the road, Mlina racing right along with them.

Iliana broke through the brush at the edge of the forest first, closely followed by Mlina. As she reached the cottage, she turned to see her father huffing, trying to break through the brush. She waited, smiling, for him to reach the cottage.

"…Remind me…never to race...you again…," he panted, trying to catch his breath.

"You challenged me," she giggled as Celia came out to see what was going on.

"Oh, honey. You didn't try to race her again, did you? You know she can run faster than you and with your condition…" she clucked her tongue, trying not to smile as she led her husband to the house. "Iliana, wash up for supper," she called over her shoulder.

Still giggling, Iliana followed her mother into the cottage and made her way to the washroom.

Emerging a couple minutes later, she found her mother and father waiting at the table. Easing into her chair, she bowed her head as her father said the prayers. Raising her head, she picked up her fork and knife and waited for her father or mother to start a conversation.

"So," James cleared his throat. "You know that, um…we leave for Corus in 5 days."

"Yes, Da, I do. What of it?" asked Iliana calmly, fighting the smirk that was trying to break free at her father's nerve.

"Well, since you will need to, um, ride to Corus, and I hear that you will need a horse in your knight training…"

"Did you really!?" screeched Iliana, dropping her fork and knife with a clatter. "Can I see it!? When?! How?!" Grinning, she jumped up and hugged her father.

"I had to. I can't have my little girl be the only one without a horse. You can see her after dinner. She's in the stable with China and Patty," he replied, referring to the two workhorses. James was smiling, clearly pleased with his daughters' reaction.

"Oh, Da. She's _beautiful_," breathed Iliana. In the stall at the end of the four-horse stable was a black mare. She was tall and muscular, with a soft kindness in her eyes. "What's her name?"

"She hasn't one. You can name her. The man I bought her from said he couldn't put a name on such a beauty," replied James, standing back to watch his daughter become familiar with the horse.

"What shall I name you?" whispered Iliana lightly blowing the horse's nostrils as a greeting, giggling when the horse returned the gesture.

_'You are an unusual girl,'_ said a soft voice in Iliana's head. She jumped, startled, and looked around frantically. Glancing back, she saw her father looking at her with a worried look on his face. She smiled, assuring him that she was ok.

Leaning towards her horse, she whispered, "Who was that?"

_'Me,'_ said the voice. '_The horse standing in front of you. What's wrong? Don't you know that you are part People?"_

"No. Who are People? And why can I hear you and speak to you?"

'_People are the animals. And you are almost as much People as you are human. Therefore, you can communicate with any animal you wish.'_

"Well, that's interesting. Do you have a name?"

_'Yes. In your language, it's Princess of Moons,'_ the mare snorted, shaking her head. _'My mother had a vivid imagination.'_

"Can I call you Moonpie instead?" asked Iliana, glancing again over her shoulder at her waiting father.

_'Sure. That will do. Now, go to your father. If my horse senses are correct, he wants to talk to you. And it usually is,' _Moonpie replied, nudging Iliana in the direction of the door.

"Well? What did you decide?" inquired James, still slightly concerned about his beloved daughter.

"Moonpie," replied Iliana, wondering whether to tell her father about this new magic. She decided against it, choosing instead to wait and ask Sheena tomorrow.

"Wonderful name. Now, there is one more thing…you will need some other supplies for your training. Supplies we cannot buy here in Tonam. So we will be leaving a day early so we can shop for those things. I hope that's ok with you," said James, nervously glancing at his daughter's face for any discontent.

"Oh Da. That would be wonderful. But how can we afford all of this? I know we do well, but…" Iliana trailed off, biting her lip.

"Since you were born, I…we knew that this day would come. So we've been saving part of the profits from the crops and livestock, in preparation for this day," James explained. "Now, let's get back to the house. Your mother must be worried sick."

"Sheena? Can we take a break? I have a question to ask you," Iliana said, wiping the sweat from her brow. Learning new spells, and perfecting them, was hard, even with complete concentration, and she just couldn't focus. She was too distracted from what Moonpie had told her the previous night.

"Sure, child. What's bothering you?" Sheena had always been a kind woman, and was quick to help whoever needed it. An elderly woman, she had never had kids, so all of her students became her kids.

"Could we, um, talk in private?" Iliana said, avoiding eye contact with Sheena and Penny. Shifting from foot to foot, she chose instead to stare at a bluebird sitting on a branch just outside the window.

"Ok…Penny, why don't you go outside and practice the levitation spell, ok?" Sheen said, nodding at the young girl who was currently staring at her friend with concern. Normally, Iliana wasn't afraid to share whatever was bothering her with anyone who would listen. But today, she had been quiet and unconcentrated, unable to do many spells that normally were no problem for her.

"I'll just…be out there then," Penny said quietly, glancing back as she walked outside, swinging the door softly behind her.

"Now, what did you want to talk about, Iliana?" Sheena asked, lowering herself into a chair.

"Um…" Iliana hesitated, still insure how to word this unusual statement, though she had practiced many times in her head. "I can…well, I can talk to animals. Like, I talk and they understand, and then when they respond, I can understand.

"Hmmm…interesting," Sheena muttered, scratching her head and crinkling her forehead, sinking deep into thought.

"I'm not crazy, am I? I am, aren't I!? They're going to lock me up and I'll never see daylight again!" Iliana wailed, tears welling up in her eyes and spilling over onto her cheeks.

"No, child. Not at all," Sheena said, jumping up to comfort the distraught girl. "In fact, I'd say this is a good thing."

"Really?" Iliana sniffled. "Then what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing. You have wild magic. Wild magic is a very rare Gift that allows the holder to talk to animals, among other things. As is known, there is but one other like you living now.

"Who's that?"

"Veralidaine Sarrasri. She goes by Daine. She lives in the palace in Corus. Nice girl, she was."

"You know her!?" gasped Iliana. "I need to meet her!"

"Yes. Years ago, she passed through on her way to some horse market. Very bold young woman," said Sheena, eyes glazing over as she sunk into the memory. "She went right up to the butcher, she did, and asked where she could find a Gifted woman who was more than a mid-wife. He pointed her my way, naturally, and she came right up to and banged on my door. Spent four days here, she did. Seemed scared to trust people, though, especially men. Loved to spend time in the woods, chatting with the creatures, I suppose. I wish I could see her again, see how she's doing…"

"When I get to Corus, I'm gonna ask personally to see her. I will ask her about you," Iliana stated, determination filling her voice.

"Thank you Iliana. I may just send a letter with you. Now, we've held up Penny long enough. Go get her."

"Yes ma'am," Iliana said, turning and running out into the yard. "Penny! Guess what!?"


	3. Chapter 2

"I'll write, Ma. I promise," Iliana said, holding tightly to her mother, clinging and burying her face into her bosom. She could feel her tears running down her face, soaking into her mother's blouse. She didn't care. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetling. Eventually, I'll visit you in Corus," Celia said, tears streaming quietly down her face. This was the first time Iliana would be completely separated from the family for longer than a couple days.

"Ok dear. Time to go, if we're going to reach Lake Naxon afore nightfall," said James. Hugging his wife, he climbed onto his mount, China, with little difficulty, but had to steady Moonpie for Iliana.

"Bye, Ma. Bye, Penny, Sheena," Iliana said, waving. Sheena silently walked up to Moonpie and handed Iliana a sealed, unaddressed envelope. The envelope bulged, clearly stuffed with many papers. Nodding to show that she understood who the letter was for, Iliana accepted it and tucked it into her packs. A single tear rolled down Sheena's cheek, and the old woman turned and walked briskly back to stand by Penny. The young girl put her arm around their teacher, tears running heavily down Penny's cheeks as she started sobbing.

"I'll miss you all! I'll come back or write! I won't forget!" she called, already starting to ride away, Moonpie trotting to catch up to James and China. Iliana turned away, and let the tears she had been holding back brim over her eyes and down her rosy cheeks.

"We'll rest here for the night," James said, pointing to the large, well-lit inn down the road, near the center of the town they had just entered. It looked clean and well-kept, and there was a dull roar radiating from the building, marking it as quite popular.

"Ok. As long as we can rest," Iliana said, slumped over in her saddle, nearly asleep. Moonpie had been working hard to keep her in the saddle, and was growing weary of it. Nor did she hesitate to tell Iliana.

_'Finally! You owe me extra oats for this,' _scolded Moonpie, snorting and stomping her hooves for good measure.

They rode up to the inn, dismounting, and handed the horses' reins to the hostler who came to meet them. Walking inside, the noise grew and the two picked their way through the mostly drunken crowd.

"Excuse me," James said, grabbing the attention of a serving girl. "Where can I find the owner of this inn?"

"Over there, by the fireplace," she said, pointing. "In the navy tunic."

"Thank you ma'am," Iliana said, as James had already started to walk away. The lady did a double take, entranced by her emerald eyes and the matching streaks running through her hair. As Iliana turned to follow her dad, the woman instinctively made the Sign against Evil on her chest.

"Excuse me, sir. We would like a room, if you have one," James said, striding right up to the man.

"Sure! How many beds?" the man boomed, his voice bigger than his girth, if that was possible.

"Two. My daughter is with me," James replied, nodding towards Iliana.

"My! Quite the peepers she has! And look here! Matching hair and ink! Aren't ye a mite young for such things?" he said, his reaction quite different from the serving girls'. Laughter lit up his eyes, and Iliana had to smile.

"How much will the room be?" James said, growing uneasy at the growing attention Iliana was gathering. Some of the drunken men around them had noticed Iliana's unusual hair and eyes, and were staring. Some were even pointing her out to those nearby.

"We'll just take care of that in the morn," the man said, guessing, correctly, James's discomfort. "Follow me."

They exited the crowded pub through a door nestled next the fireplace, and started up a flight of stairs.

"Here we are. If ye need anythin' else, don't hesitate to ask," the inn keeper said. "My name is Edgar, by the way."

"Thank you, sir," called Iliana as Edgar retreated down the hall.

John swung the door open and walked tentatively into the room, careful of any objects that could inflict pain on his careless foot.

"I think I've found a candle. Hold on a moment…" James said, fumbling in the dark for flint. Iliana giggled, wondering whether or not she should tell him that she knew the fire spell already, and could light the candle with a word and a flick of her finger. As she opened her mouth to tell him, a spark flared and light filled the room. "Ha! I told you I'd get it."

He was clearly pleased with himself, so Iliana decided not to say anything.

"So what's the plan? When will we arrive in Corus?" a very anxious Iliana asked, dropping her heavy packs onto the ground and falling onto one of the beds.

"We should reach Corus by nightfall tomorrow, if we leave early. We'll find an inn when we get there, and then we'll go up to the Palace two days after that. By then we should have all the things you'll need to be a student. Does that sound good to you?" James asked, exploring the small room. "Hey, I found the bathroom. Do you need to bathe?"

"Yes!" Iliana exclaimed. She had been dying to scrub the grime of a long day's ride from her weary body. Eager to explore the inn on her own, she jumped up from the bed. "That sounds good. Should I find Edgar and get some supplies?"

"Yes. But don't run off or get into trouble. You tend to do that when you're unsupervised," James said, fixing a steady gaze on his daughter. She lowered her gaze to the floor and fidgeted, biting her lip because that was exactly what she had been planning on doing. "Iliana?"

"Ok. I won't get into trouble!" Iliana exclaimed, throwing up her hands. Under her breath, she muttered, "that much."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Da! Nothing!" Iliana said, already heading purposefully towards the door.

"I'm serious, Iliana!" James yelled, but Iliana had already shut the door and was running down the hall, intent upon the bar.

Iliana had to duck and weave through the crowd of thightly-packed, drunk men, and their ladies. Twice she almost ran into someone, and several more times than that she had to dodge spilling ale. Finding an unused chair, she dragged it to an empty corner nad climbed up, craning her neck to find Edgar among the bar-goers. Finally, she found him, kneeling beside an obviously very drunk man. Jumping down from the chair, she began to push her way towards him.

"Edgar…Edgar!" Iliana said, approaching him.

"Well, hey there! What are you doing down here at this hour? Does your da know you're down here?" Edgar asked, eyeing the crowd. "People can act…oddly when they have ale in them."

"My da sent me. He wanted me to ask where we could get bathing supplies," Iliana said, careful of any prying ears among the crowd around her.

"Ye'd have to talk to my wife, Martha for that. Go through that door there and ask for her. Someone will find her for ye."

"Thank you," Iliana called, turning and ducking to make it around a large man singing something that resembled a bar song as he was led out of the bar by a couple of friends.

"Where might I find the innkeeper's wife, Martha?" the maid shook her head. Sighing, Iliana looked around for another person to ask. Spotting an older woman near the sink, she wandered over.

"Pardon me, ma'am. Do you know where I might find Martha, the innkeeper's wife?" Iliana said, growing weary of her search.

"Ye're looking at her! What can I do for ye?" said the woman, turning to face Iliana, revealing kind eyes set in a smiling face.

"Oh! Um, I need some bathing things. Edgar told me to see you," stuttered a suddenly shy Iliana.

"Well, is that all? Follow me, then," she laughed. It was a booming laugh but a kind one. She turned to walk towards a door hidden from Iliana's view by a wooden cupboard. Through it were shelves and shelves of soaps, towels, piles of cloth. If it was necessary, it was there. With ease, she started gathering all the needed supplies.

"You look too young to be on the road by yourself. Have you a traveling pal? Need you supplies fer two? Martha incquired, still facing the shelves.

"Um, my da is with me. We're going to Corus," Iliana stammered.

"Well, that's fair interesting. Might I ask why?"

"I'm not really sure. I guess to go to school, though I hope it's not to be a knight. I won't do it. I'm not a knight type of girl," Iliana said, clearly warming up to the older woman. Taking the supplies that Martha handed her, she struggled to keep her balance and keep her eye on the woman. Although she trusted the woman, she had no faith in anyone else in the inn. She had learned well enough through stories from Sheena that many could not be trusted.

"How exciting for you! Maybe you'll even find a nice little princling to court, eh?" the woman shoved the last of the supplies Iliana had asked for into the younger girl's arms, winking, and herded her out of the room. Blushing, Iliana allowed herself to be guided out of the storeroom.

"…thank you. For the supplies, I mean," said Iliana, blush still burning upon her cheeks.

"No problem, darlin'. If you need anything else, just come find me. And a word of advice," Martha said as the girl turned to walk away. Puzzled, Iliana turned to look into now-hardened eyes. "Never let your secrets be known to someone you don't completely trust. My son made that mistake once, and he ended up in the Black God's realm."

"Of course. I'm sorry, too," Iliana slowly made her way back to the room, thinking about what Martha had said. Was she mistaken in trusting the woman with her secret? It wasn't really her secret, but she knew well enough she couldn't share with every passer-by with kind eyes. Shrugging it off, she tapped on the door of her room with her foot, waiting patiently for her father to open the door and help her.

"There you are! I was starting to worry you'd fallen for some young drunk and run off," James smiled and tweaked her nose.

"Very funny, Da. Now help me 'fore I drop all this," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

_"-must be a mistake! There is no way this is possible! I will not do it!" a chiming female voice exclaimed._

_"This is no request, Chioke," another, male voice said calmly. It almost hurt her ears to hear it, but at the same time, it drew her in. "I am not asking you to take on this task; I am telling you. If this girl does not get a guardian who is a god of the People, she will cause untold chaos."_

_"Fine," the first voice said. This voice sounded not human, but animal-like. "I will look after her. Tomorrow I will visit her, and explain some things to her. But one of you owes me."_

_A third voice, filled with laughter, said "You just remember what your end of the bargain is. Then, we may pay that debt."_

Waking with a start, Iliana sat up and looked around, rubbing her eyes. Out the window, she saw that the sun had just risen completely over the horizon. Turning her eyes away from the sight, she sought her father. He was still sleeping. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, careful not to wake her dad. Pulling on breeches and a tunic, she dug through her pack for some paper and ink. Writing a quick note explaining where she was, Iliana snuck out into the hall and made her way down to the kitchen.

"Well, aren't we up a mite early? Lookin' for some breakfast, I bet," chortled a loud voice coming from somewhere out of Iliana's view.

"Yes, I am. Have you any?" Iliana said as Martha emerged from behind a screen.

"Breakfast service starts in 20 minutes. You can wait, if you like."

"Can I do anything to help? I was taught no to sit idle when there's work I could do," Iliana replied, rolling up her sleeves. Grabbing a chunk of the dough Martha had been kneading and making into biscuits, she got to work.

"So what're you going to Corus for? What're ye going to learn?" asked Martha, busying herself next to Iliana.

"Well…I'm going to school," replied Iliana, casting a watchful eye around the room as serving girls, cooks, and a few guests had started to trickle into the kitchen and adjouning dining room.

"No offense, but you don't look much like a noble's daughter, nor do you look like the knight type."

"Well, I'm not really going to train as a knight, exactly. I'm going to be a mage," said Iliana, eyes carefully scanning the room for any suspicious people. Nothing caught her eye, as most people weren't yet awake, but she still kept a careful watch.

"Really? What kind of magic do you have?" Martha asked, intent upon the dough she was no breaking into chunks to bake. Iliana started doing the same with her half of the dough.

"I don't really know. Sheena-that's my teacher back in the village-said I have lots of healing magic, and the kind of magic that creates illusion and concealment spells. I haven't ever tried any other kind of magic, so," Iliana explained, trying to keep her voice low.

"Wow. Quite the mage you must be! Any other special talents?"

"Well, I'm pretty good with animals, and I've been using a long bow since I could string one. I'm pretty good with crossbows too, but not as good. Plus, the blacksmith has been teaching me hand-to-hand combat with his daughter. Our village gets hit by raiders often, so once you're old enough, all the children learn some form of self-defense," Iliana explained, dropping the last of the dough onto a pan. She decided against sharing her new-found magic. She knew it was better off a secret until she reached the palace and spoke to Daine. Deciding to see Moonpie after breakfast, she asked Martha where the stables were.

"Out back, next to the shed marked 'Tools'. You want to see your horse?"

"Yeah. I only just got, so I need to establish a bond."

"Well, then you best bring her a treat, no?" Martha winked and produced an apple and a couple carrots.

"Thank you! I'll pay you for these, I promise," exclaimed Iliana and stuffed the gifts into her pockets.

"Nonsense. Those are my gifts to you and your horse. Now, I can handle it from here. You go, and come back for breakfast in 15 minutes," Martha said, shooing the girl out of the kitchen. Smiling, she watched the girl hurry towards the stable.

"Hey Moonpie. I brought something for you," Iliana said, slipping into the horses' stable, careful that no one saw her. She didn't want the hostlers to think she was mad, talking to a horse. Turning to face the horse, she jumped and bit back a scream. Standing next to the mare was an extremely large animal, like nothing Iliana had ever seen.

_-Oh, hush up. I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I'm here to help,-_ said the creature.

"Um, that's great, but what are you?" asked Iliana, walking to a clearly uninterested Moonpie, keeping a wary eye on the thing.

_-I am Chioke, the first cougar, and now, I'm your guardian,- _something about that voice seemed familiar, but she dismissed the feeling.

"I see. Well, what are you going to help me with? I don't think I need help. Do I?" Iliana said, sitting in the hay-covered ground in front of Chioke.

_-You have a special magic, wild magic. Beside that, you also have one of the most powerful Gifts in the world. Your Gift includes all kinds of magic, and you are extremely talented in all of them. You will probably never use all of your Gift, as yours is near bottomless. Your destiny is to train that Gift, for soon, the fate of the world will depend on how well you know your lessons. You must travel to Corus and learn from Alanna, Numair Salmalin and Daine.-_

"How do you know all this? I mean, you're a god, but still. I was always told the Great Gods were the only ones that knew these things," asked Iliaa, confusion showing in her eyes.

_-You were told correctly. The Great Gods are the only ones with that power. But they were the ones that sent me to guide you, so they passed on some of that knowledge to me, so that I could warn you of any danger. You are yet a cub. You needed someone to watch out for you. Now, there is one last matter to take care of,-_ Chioke said, rising and walking over to Iliana.

Although the cat was really big and still scared Iliana, she fought down the fear and sat there as Chioke padded up to her. Pausing as if she was thinking, the cougar pressed her nose into the base of Iliana's throat. Satisfied with the results, the cougar stepped back and a silver fog started to gather around her.

_-Remember what I told you. And the Great Gods have their hands on you. It will be a hard journey. Never give up hope.- _And with that, the cougar vanished.

"Well that was fair interesting," she said, raising her hand to the spot where Chioke had pressed her nose to. Instead of feeling bare skin, as she had expected, there was a talisman hanging from a hemp cord. Examining it, she found it was a golden cougar, with tiny, sparkling emeralds set in the place of eyes.

'Good riddance. They should have sent a horse guardian. Cougars make me nervous,' said Moonpie. 'Now, make yourself useful and give me that food in your pocket.'

Gigling, Iliana tucked the pendant inside her shirt and did as she was told.

Walking back into the inn, she saw her father had made it downstairs and was now enjoying a hearty breakfast. Grabbing a roll, some sausage and a bowl of fruit, she joined him.

"Where were you?" asked James as Iliana sat down across from him.

"Visiting Moonpie, Martha gave me some carrots and an apple for her," Iliana said, having already decided not to share her unique encounter until she had spoken with Daine and Numair and they were in a safer location.

Nodding, James returned his attention to his breakfast. He was not a morning person, Iliana knew, so she just smiled and turned her attention to her food as well.

"Thank you for everything. If I ever pass through here again, I'll be sure to stop by," Iliana said, giving Martha a hug. This was unusual, she knew, but she felt close to Martha, and it was sad to leave another friend.

"I'm sure we'll see you again," the older woman said, eyes sparkling as she watched Iliana mount Moonpie. Turning one last time to wave goodbye, Iliana set her mind to the task ahead.


	4. Chapter 3

The sun was starting its descent below the horizon when they reached Corus. As Iliana and James rode over the hill, Iliana's eyes widened. Never had she seen such a beautiful city. On the hill overlooking the entire city sat the palace, home to King Jonathan and Queen Thayet, and some of the world's best mages and teachers. As the two rode through the city, Iliana could not take in enough of the sights. James laughed, for Iliana gasped at every new sight.

"Oh, Da," Iliana sighed. "You never said it would be so beautiful."

"Just wait 'til you see the palace. Now stop all that. You'll get whiplash," James laughed, steering China toward an inn. Deciding to bed down early, they stabled the horses and went straight to bed.

000

"You'll definitely need a nice set of clothes, as well as some new breeches. Yours are getting short. And would you like a gown, for the court functions I'm sure you'll go to?" James said as they strolled down the road in the Weavers District.

"Oh, a gown!? Really? I'd love one but…," Iliana gazed wistfully at the displays in the shops lining the street.

"But what?" a concerned James glanced sideways at his daughter.

"Gowns are _expensive_, Da. I don't want you to spend money that we don't have on things I don't need," biting her lip, she avoided eye contact. She knew he hated it when she worried about the family's finances, but she couldn't help it.

"Nonsense, Iliana. We have plenty saved for this, I've told you. Besides, now that you're here, your mother and I will have one less mouth to feed," James said, smiling as he reached out to tweak her nose.

"Whatever you say. A gown it is, then," she replied, swatting his hand away as they walked into a store.

000

Hours later, as the sun was beginning to set, Iliana and James, laden with packages of many varieties, walked towards the inn they had slept at the night before.

"So, tomorrow, we go to the palace and find this Daine?" asked James as they entered their room.

"Yeah, I guess," Iliana said, dropping her packages on the bed, than falling down beside them. "I'm exhausted!"

"Yes, well, you had to do a lot of fittings. But you looked beautiful in that dress."

"Thanks, Da. How about dinner, bath, bed?" she asked, groaning as she rose from the bed. The inn had separate men's and woman's bathhouses, so bathing wouldn't be a problem as it had earlier in their trip.

"That sounds great," James said. Opening the door, he mock-bowed. "After you, madam."

Giggling, she curtsied and walked out the door. "Why thank you, kind sir."

000

Once again, Iliana awoke before James. The sun was already up, and Iliana could hear the market coming to life below the window. Iliana grabbed one of the more casual outfits that she had purchased the previous day and put it on, careful not to make any noise. She had a special wake-up surprise for her father. Leaning, over her da's bed, she drew a deep breath, and let out an ear-piercing war-cry. Jumping back as James bolted up, panting, Iliana doubled ever, clutching her stomach as she laughed.

"What's going on!?" James asked, wide-eyed and gasping as he looked frantically around the room for what had caused his daughter to utter such a sound. "Where's the danger!?"

"There's no danger," replied Iliana calmly, struggling to hold in the laughter as she turned now to start tidying her things and packing one last time, hopefully, before she took up her new residence in the palace. "I just had to wake you."

"By screaming in my face?" James said, throwing his blanket back and grabbing a pair of breeches. "You could've just…I don't know, poked me or something."

"You are a really heavy sleeper," she informed him, hiding a smile by digging deeper into her bags. "So, what are we doing today?"

James chuckled, turning his attention to his own bags. "Today we ride to the palace, and talk to whomever arranges this kind of stuff."

"Good. I _really_ need to talk to Daine," Iliana said, mind drifting to the tales she had heard, where Daine had visited with gods and done other barely believable things. "If anyone knows about this, she will."

"Oh. Well, we have a few last minute things to get at the market, but we'll ride up right after the midday meal."

000

"Your daughter, you say? But not a knight?" Iliana could hear scraps of the conversation through the door and she strained to hear more. Lord Wyldon of Cavall seemed a kind man (A/N I know he's kinda not, but just pretend. How about this? Once he found out she didn't want to be a knight and therefore wouldn't be in her care, he was fine. There. ), but his disbelieving tone was very disheartening. After all, she couldn't exactly come out and say why she was really here. Surely no one would believe her.

"Iliana," a voice jolted her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw that the door had opened, and her father now beckoned her into the room. "Lord Wyldon would like a word."

Rising slowly, nervously, she walked into the room. Following her father, she sunk into a chair in front of the massive desk behind which Lord Wyldon sat. James sat down in another chair next to her. Staring the duke in the eye, she saw the familiar flicker of curiosity in his eyes as he noticed the peculiarity of her eyes.

"So, Iliana, is it?" the Lord said, recovering quickly from the shock of her appearance. "Your father tells me you wish to learn here, but not as a knight?"

"Yes sir," Iliana said, head high and back straight as she spoke her answer.

"Would you care to tell me what exactly you wish to study then?"

"Well," Iliana stammered, looking down as she shifted nervously in her seat. "I can only tell you part of it. Until I've spoken with Lady Daine Sarrasri and Mister Numair Salmalin, that is."

"Oh. Well, what can you tell me then?" Lord Wyldon said. While his face was stern, Iliana could see he was amused at her unusual response.

"I want to study magic."

"You have the Gift?"

"Yes, and I can only study with Numair, Daine, and Lady Alanna. It's quite important. I need to see them as soon as possible," Iliana said, meeting Wyldon's piercing gaze with an unnerving one of her own. "Quite important."

"I see. Well, I'll tell you what," Lord Wyldon said, leaning forward to address Iliana's request. "I can arrange for Daine and Numair to meet with you now. Alanna is not at the Palace right now. Apparently, one of her children is ill, and seeing as she's the most powerful healer in the realm, she would settle for no one else to help."

"Oh!" Iliana was surprised. She didn't think such a request from someone like her would be met so quickly. She was, after all, just a common-born girl, and Lord Wyldon knew nothing about her other than the fact she had the Gift, but he was practically offering her whatever she wanted. "Well, I mean, I guess as soon as possible would be perfect. But, what about our bags and stuff?"

"Well, I presume you'll be staying here, if you are going to be a student. And we can give your father some rooms. Temporarily? Yes. I'll send for Daine and Numair right away, and someone will escort you to your rooms. After you drop your things off there, you will be shown to Daine and Numair's room."

"Room?" Iliana asked, surprised. She had heard rumors, but she always ignored such things, knowing from personal experience that many rumors were not true. "Don't you mean rooms?"

Lord Wyldon chuckled. "No, I mean room. They are married. It's fair recent, and I doubt you would have known about it unless you were closely tied with someone in the palace. Those two are very private about their personal matters. Now, will that do for you?"

"Yes sir." Bowing awkwardly, she timidly followed James out of the room. Outside the room, a servant waited for them. Silently, he beckoned for them to follow him. Leading them through a maze of hallways, staircases, and display rooms, they finally reached what looked to be student quarters. Pulling a key from his pocket, he put it into the lock and turned it. The door swung slowly open. Then, pulling another key from his pocket, he opened another door, next to the first. He handed the first key to Iliana and the other to James. Reaching into his pocket again, he produced another key.

Handing it to James, he finally spoke, his voice soft. "This one is for the door adjoining your two rooms. I will need all of those keys back when you, sir, decided to leave, and if you, ma'am, move to new quarters. I'll need the key to the adjoining door as soon as one of you leaves. You should unpack now. I will wait here until you are ready to leave."

Nodding, Iliana entered her room and James his. A moment later, the adjoining door swung open. Now each could see the other's room. The two were identical. A small bed took up much of the room, a nightstand and a desk also present. Two doors, both closed, stood on the adjacent wall. Opening the first, Iliana found it led to a small dressing room. Moving to the next, she found it to be a washroom. Turning, she began to move her cloths from the pack to the dresser that stood next to the two doors. Shaking out her much wrinkled items, she hung many of them over whatever she could find, hoping to remove the wrinkles.

Once she was satisfied, she peered through the door leading to James's room. Seeing he had done the same and was almost done, she strolled out into the hallway. Patting her pocket to make sure she still had the key given to her, she closed the door. Moments later, James made his way into the hallway, doing the same before he closed his door.

000

"Here you are. If you require anything else, you will find help in the servant's quarters. They are just below your own rooms," with that, the man bowed and retreated.

Murmuring a quick thanks, Iliana turned to her father. Letting out a deep breath, she reached up to fix his tunic.

"How do I look?" she asked, stepping back. James's brow wrinkled as he inspected his daughter. He was startled by the question. Usually, his daughter didn't care for the opinions of others, and never hesitated to say so. She did what she wished, and let others think what they wished.

"You look beautiful, darling," was his quiet reply. Reaching out to stroke her hair, he nodded toward the door, indicating that she should go first.

With a trembling hand, she pushed the heavy door open and walked into the room, silently memorizing everything about it. It was simply decorated, with simply a long table and many chairs. A timid looking woman stood against a wall, dressed as the servant man had. Two of the chairs were occupied. In one, a tall, lanky man sat. He was simply dressed, except for a few ornaments, though those looked very pricey. He had dark hair that was pulled back into a horse-tail. He was very handsome, Iliana realized. Feeling a blush creep up her neck, she turned her gaze on the woman seated next to him. She was pretty, but not in the traditional way. She had brown, curly hair, held back with ties, though some fell free of the bindings to frame blue-gray eyes. A soft, full mouth was off-set by a stubborn chin. She was much shorter, even sitting, than the man.

Eyeing the table, she saw that an assortment of sweets and beverages had been laid out. Her stomach chose that moment to let out a quite audible groan. Embarrassed, Iliana looked down at her feet. Laughing cheerfully, the woman stood, motioning to the two chairs opposite her and her companion.

"Please, sit and have something to eat. Sounds like you need it." Hesitating, Iliana obeyed, followed quickly by James, who did not try to hide his hunger. Grabbing a cake as soon as he sat down, he got to eating. Iliana was a bit more polite, daintily working at her food.

"Now that we're all settled, why don't you tell us why you needed to see us so urgently. Lord Wyldon told us it was important, and nothing is ever important to that man," the man said.

Nudging him, the woman rolled her eyes. "Where are your manners? I'm Daine, Veralidaine Sarrasri, and this is Numair Salmalin. But I presume you knew that already. Who are you, my dear?"

"Oh, I'm Iliana and this is my father, James," she replied meekly, still too nervous to do anything but pick at her food. She couldn't even bring herself to look at them.

"Well, Iliana, what can we do for you? If you need us and Alanna, it must be an interesting request," Numair prodded, clearly fascinated as to why this girl was sitting in front of him.

"I, um…I was just wondering if, um…" Iliana whispered, trying to find the words and the nerves to say what she needed to say.

"It's ok. You can tell us anything," Daine encouraged. Iliana's eyes automatically darted to the servant standing behind them, then back at Daine. Turning, Daine saw what had caught Iliana's attention, and beckoned the girl over. Whispering something in the woman's ear, Daine turned back to face Iliana. The girl silently exited the room, closing the door quietly behind her. "Now, continue."

"Well, I guess I should start with the facts. I have the same power as you do, the Wildmagic. I also have the regular Gift, but apparently it's really powerful. At least, that's what I was told," Iliana looked up at them, waiting, dreading, the laughter and mockery that they surely would give. After all, they would not believe her, right?

"Interesting. Well, this is going to be fun, explaining to His Majesty. What do you mean by that's what you were told? And is there anything else?" said Numair, his brain already working to evaluate not only what the girl told him but what he saw through his magical vision. The girl was laced heavily with copper and emerald fire. It ran through her veins, more of it almost than blood itself. He knew his wife could see the copper fire, but only he could see her Gift, and he was glad. He was shocked at the amount she held. She held more than he had ever seen in any human, even himself. He was not envious, just curious, as to why he had not known of this before, forgetting, of course, that the girl was not a palace-dweller.

"Well, I was told that by my, um…" glancing at her father, she continued. "By my guardian. She came to me two days ago. She gave me this, if it helps."

Iliana drew the talisman from under her shirt. Seeing the curious stares of everyone in the room, she removed it and handed it to the mages. Numair took it and examined it, carefully turning it over in his hands. When he was satisfied, he handed it to Daine, who did the same. At last, she returned it to her. Grinning, she drew a badger claw from her shirt. Iliana knew, somehow, that Daine had her own magical guardian.

"I also was told by her to ask that you teach me. Well, you two and Lady Alanna. Chioke-that's her name-said it was really important that it was you who taught me," Iliana continued, feeling much more bold now that she knew they believed her and would not mock her. "She said something about how soon the whole realm would depend on how well I learned my lessons."

Letting out a deep sigh, Daine looked at Numair. "Badger always does the same thing. I hate when they get all cryptic. Why can't the gods just tell us what they want us to know?"

Laughing at this, Iliana suddenly had another question. "What kind of stuff will my powers let me do?"

"Well, your wild magic will allow you to heal animals, enter their minds, and even become them. Like shape-shifting, only a lot more broad. Any animal that you are familiar with you may become."

"And your Gift, well, only you can tell. You may be a healer, you may be a war-mage-"

"Oh! Chioke told me about that too! She said…" Iliana wrinkled her brow, trying to remember what exactly the cougar had told her. "She said that I have all kinds of magic and that I am talented in all of them. I was told that I must learn healing from Alanna, wild magic from Daine, and everything else from Numair."

"Well," Numair seemed to be struggling with a mixture of curiosity, envy, and excitement. It was a funny sight, but Iliana bit her tongue. It would not do to offend the most powerful mage in Tortall and possibly her future teacher. "How educated are you? Can you read and write? How about mathematics?"

"I can read and write, and I've learned mathematics. Sheena insisted that all of her students be educated to the best of their abilities," Iliana bristled at the doubtful look in his eyes. "You may test my knowledge if you wish."

His eyes widened for a moment. He was clearly shocked at her tone, but he soon recovered. Waving a hand, he shook his head. "That won't be necessary. At least, not yet. When we have taken care of your arrangements, we will see to it that you are properly educated by the masters at the palace, unless you prove yourself to have learned well in that area. I suppose the Lioness will not rest unless you are also taught combat skills and riding. Do you own a horse?"

"Yes sir. I just got her," Iliana was still sore about the shot at her beloved teacher. Just then, a thought hit her. "Oh! Daine, I have something for you. Sheena, my teacher, sent a letter with me to you. She met you once. You passed through our village years ago and stayed with her for a few days. She was wondering how you were doing. The letter is in my rooms. I suppose I could bring it to you now or…"

"I thought that name sounded familiar. Why don't you just bring it to me tomorrow? I would like a look at your horse in the morning, if you please. I always make a point to get to know my friends' mounts. Now, it is getting late. What shall we do about your living arrangements? You have been given temporary rooms in the palace, but as our student, you should be living nearer to us. We can arrange for you to live in the rooms next to ours. They belonged to some scholar, but he moved to Carthak to study plants or some such. We can have them cleaned and set for you to stay in. There would be plenty of room for your father to stay with you until he feels ready to leave. Would that suit you?" a nod from both Iliana and James confirmed her proposition. "Also, do you have a maid? Well, you will need one to help you clean and such. If you cannot afford one, we will provide one for you. And I will not take no for an answer. As our student, it is our duty to properly supply you with your needs. I will not have the court gossips say that we do not treat out apprentice like a decent human being."

"Of course. Thank you. I…we will be forever in your debt," Iliana said, attempting to bow, an awkward gesture from her seated position.

"Nonsense," Daine said, waving an elegant hand. "I will also need to request private audience with the king to explain this to him. He will be…shocked."

Numair smiled and laughed. Iliana didn't know what was so funny, but she imagined it was something to do with how King Jonathan would react to her particular situation. Stifling a yawn, she glanced at her father. He had been quiet throughout this conversation, and she was sad that she had not told him all the things that she had just spilled to these two strangers. Placing a gentle hand on his arm, she shot him a reassuring smile. She would make it up to him.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I'm tired. Could we get back to our rooms now? After all this excitement, I really just wish to sleep," Iliana said, covering another yawn.

"Yes, of course. When you awake in the morning, come find me in the stables. I will be there all morning. I doubt you will sleep into the afternoon," Daine said, rising and coming around the table. As Iliana rose too, Daine gave her a hug.

"I am so glad you came to me. Thank you," Daine whispered, then turned her around and shooed her out the door. Watching her go, she felt Numair come up behind her and wrap his arms around her. Sinking into his embrace, she sighed. "This is going to be more work than we thought, I think."

"Yes, my dear. But just think. She will be like the daughter we haven't yet had. And you need someone to keep you on your toes," Numair said, grinning as Daine turned in his arms and looked up at him, confused.

"Me? You are the one-" but Numair cut off that sharp comment with a kiss, then led his love out of the conference room.


	5. Chapter 4

The next morning, Iliana woke, as usual, at dawn. Now that she had a room separate from her father's, she didn't have to worry about being quiet. Dressing, she walked out into the hallways. Looking around, she wondered how she was going to find the stables. As she pondered this, a young woman, probably a palace maid, walked into the corridor.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Iliana said, walking towards the girl. The woman flinched and began to back away. Iliana wondered what had happened that made this girl so wary of people. "No, please. I'm not going to do anything to you. I just have a question."

"Yes, madam?" she said, still very wary of Iliana.

"Do you know which way the stables are? I'm to meet Daine there and I've no idea where they are, nor how to get there. Can you help me?" Iliana asked, knowing her eyes were pleading. While she felt guilty about this, she knew that it took a cold heart to refuse that look.

Glancing down the hall again, the girl turned back to Iliana. "I can show you. Follow me."

Grinning, she followed obediently, making mental notes about anything that seemed important. Her guide was decidedly quiet. Curios, Iliana tried to strike up a conversation. "I'm Iliana. Who are you? Do you work here?"

Turning her head to fix an uneasy eye on Iliana, the girl quietly spoke her answer. "I'm Lalasa. I work here as a maid for one of the pages. I'm also a seamstress. Why are _you_ here?"

"One of the pages? Hm. Interesting. I'm here to train," Iliana said simply, hoping the simple fact would prompt more words from Lalasa.

It worked. Lalasa's brow wrinkled. "Train what? Are you a page? Because my mistress would like to meet you, if that be the case."

This sparked her curiosity. "Why? Surely you mean master. There aren't any girl pages, are there?"

"No, my mistress," Lalasa replied firmly. "Keladry of Mindelan. She is a second-year page here."

"Among the boys!? Surely they haven't accepted this!" Iliana exclaimed, turning this over in her mind. A girl her age, here. One that isn't a conceited rich girl. She made a note of it, hoping to meet her.

"Some haven't. Most have. In fact, you should come meet her. I know she will want to meet you, once I tell her about you. And I think you'll like those boys that accept her. They're nice,"

"I would love that. Where do I find them? I can meet tonight. I'll tell Daine and Numair. They'll understand. "Iliana said, smiling inwardly. She hoped some of these boys would be cute. Although she was only 12, she was still a girl, and a charming one at that.

"Oh, they'll be in Neal's-Nealen of Queenscove-room. But if you come right after supper, you'll catch Kel before she goes. They do homework at night. They'll probably flirt with you, but ignore them. They aren't allowed to canoodle with a girl during page years," Lalasa explained.

"Oh, if I find a good one, I can wait," when Lalasa shot her a startled look, Iliana winked, then grinned. Lalasa hesitated, then smiled. "Or, I can just sneak around."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. Lord Wyldon, the training master, knows more than the lads would think. But for a pretty young thing like you, many would risk the punishment. Just…" Lalasa trailed off. She glanced around, as if she were scared someone would hear.

"Just?" Iliana prodded, worried the girl would not finish.

"Just…stay away from Joren of Stone Mountain and his friends. They are bad boys. Joren is very handsome, but don't let it fool you. He picks on younger boys, often violently and cruelly. Kel often fights with them over it."

"Well, if she ever needs help, I'm good for that kind of thing. People are often fooled by my maidenly charm. Or so I'm told," as if to prove her point, she batted her eyes, eyes cast down as she looked up at a passing boy, presumably a page, through thick, curled eyelashes. He stared, turning as they passed, then almost ran into a suit of armor.

"True," Lalasa said considering. "Just don't shoot that look at the boys. You'll break their little heart."

They finally emerged into a courtyard. Pointing to a building across the field, Lalasa explained how to find the pages wing, and Kel's room.

"Thanks you. I'll see you tonight. And I suppose I'll exchange my womanly charm for my brain. They'll probably need help, and I'm well-learned," Iliana bid the maid farewell.

Slowly making her way to the stables, she took a note of most of her surroundings. As she entered the stable, the comforting smell of hay and horses hit her. She saw instantly where her horse had been stabled, for there were a number of animals settled around the stall. Knowing Daine was inside, Iliana opened the stall door. She saw that Daine was nose-to-nose with Moonpie, conversing. Iliana could hear the conversation, but waited politely for them to finish. It was Moonpie who noticed her first.

_'There you are. I was starting to think you had forgotten!'_ Moonpie said, coming over to lip her shirt. Daine followed, carefully assessing the way the two interacted. Nodding, she turned to address Iliana.

"Your da picked a good mount. She's young, strong, loyal if you treat her right. I approve," she smiled. She could tell this girl, though she was young, was going to be powerful, probably more so than 

herself, Numair and Alanna, in their respective areas. She smiled, knowing Numair would have some trouble with that.

"Thank you so much. Have you spoken to the king yet?" Iliana asked, producing an apple from her pocket.

"Yes. We have a meeting set up. Tomorrow at the lunch meal, we will be eating with him and Thayet in their private chambers," Daine explained, seeing a relieved look cross her new student's face. "Why are you so relieved?"

"I made plans tonight and I was hoping you wouldn't say tonight. I would hate to cancel," Iliana explained.

"Plans?" Daine raised her eyebrow. "Thought you didn't know anyone in the palace."

"I'm meeting with a page, Keladry of Mindelan, to meet her and study with her and her friends. Well, they'll study. I guess I'll help, talk, and try not to flirt. Apparently they can't court. It'll be good for me. I'll learn stuff helping them, and I need some friends my own age," Iliana clarified, focusing on her horse in case Daine didn't approve.

"How did you meet Kel? She is generally busy, and I know she doesn't wander at this hour," Daine was still confused.

"I ran into her maid trying to find the stables and she showed me the way. We talked. She told me who to stay away from and such, should I make friends with the pages." Iliana picked up a brush and began to groom the mare, as she had requested it.

"I see," Daine muttered thoughtfully. This girl makes friends easily, she thought. She will break all their hearts, poor lads. "Well, I guess that's settled. You shall visit Kel tonight. Now let's go. I need to gather some things for you and Moonpie and I'll need you with me."

LLLLLLLLLLLL

The day had flown by, and at every turn, it seemed someone was shoving some "incredibly important" item that she had to have right away. By the time she made it back to her room, right before dinner, she had so much stuff she wasn't sure she could fit it all through the door. As she dropped it on the floor in an unruly heap, she remembered her father. Going to the adjoining door, she realized James had the key. Knocking, she waited patiently as she heard James come to open the door. When she opened it, she gave him a big hug.

"Sorry I forgot about you. I was runnin' around with Daine and we had to get supplies and-" James silenced her with a laugh.

"Darlin'. I don't mind. You were doing what we came here to do. I made myself useful. I wasn't going to sit about waiting for you. Now, go to dinner. I'm going to eat with my new friends in the servants' wing," James shooed her away with a laugh.

After dinner, Iliana walked carefully down the halls of the palace, making her way to Kel's room. She kept a cautious eye out for these cruel boys Lalasa had told her about. They were not people she wanted to run into, not while she was alone and unarmed. A decent unarmed fighter she was, but she was no match for a larger boy who had several years and formal training under his belt. Finally arriving in the pages' wing, she heard the noise radiating from the rooms. Several were open and boys wandered from room to room. Iliana knew that the third door on the right was Kel's and she strolled right up to it and knocked. None of the boys in the hall took notice to her.

Kel opened the door and was met with piercing emerald eyes. She almost gasped, awestruck, but her Yamani training stopped her from making the embarrassing sound. Instead, Kel shook the offered hand. "You must be Iliana. Nice to meet you. I'm Kel."

"Indeed I am. I hope it's no trouble that I'm sitting in with you," Iliana replied. She looked over the page. Tall and muscular, especially for her age, Kel was no conventional beauty, but Iliana could see the potential for it.

"Oh no, it's no problem," Kel said, scanning Iliana as well. Grinning wickedly, she met those unusual eyes. "Although we may not get much work done. Neal will be head over heels for you before the nights over. And I'm sure several others will be too. Now I'm gonna have to listen to their sappy poetry about you."

Laughing, Iliana put on a sorrowful face. "I'm terribly sorry. Maybe they'll think I'm terribly dull and stupid and won't mind me."

"Oh, they're much too shallow for that. To men, love is only skin deep," Kel announced, retreating for a moment to grab her work. Closing the door behind her, and, curiously, locking it specially, Kel led them down the hall to room at the end of the hallway. Peeking inside before they entered, Iliana saw at least five young lads, one looking much older than the others. Drawing back, the girls made their plan.

"Ok," Kel whispered. "Let's mess with them a bit. I'm going to tell them you are a new page, started late, and that I have taken you under my wing. You are my cousin, moved from the Yamani Islands. Are you good a hiding your emotions? Great. Don't show any emotion for a while. Then you'll "open up" and you should flirt shamelessly with all of them. The older one is Neal. He'll be the easiest. He falls for pretty girls easily."

Nodding, the girls straightened. Kel walked into the room first, with Iliana trailing behind her, head down. Kel sat and Iliana did the same behind her. Neither said anything, waiting for one of the boys to notice. It was Merric who noticed first. He stared for a moment before his curiosity got the best of him.

"Kel?" he said. "Care to introduce us to your friend?"

The other boys looked up, startled. They hadn't even noticed that Kel had brought someone.

"This is my cousin, Iliana, from the Yamani Islands. She just started here, as a page. It took her longer to get here than expected. I'm showing her around the palace," Kel said matter of factly. Iliana noted that this girl was _really_ good at hiding her emotions. Her face was blank. Even Iliana would have believed her, if she didn't know better.

Deciding to contribute to the fun, Iliana slowly raised her gaze and widened her eyes, parting her full red lips slightly. "How do you do?" she said quietly. She heard them all gasp. They were not nearly so good at hiding what they felt. She let her voice become husky and flirtatious. "I'm new here. What were your names?"

The boys jumped to their feet, shoving each other to be the first to grasp her hand and introduce themselves. Iliana cast her gaze down again, making herself look startled, as if she had never had such attention. It was Neal who won, but not for lack of trying from the others. "Neal of Queenscove. It is a great honor to meet one of your-"

He was cut off by an elbow from Merric. Neal glared at the other boys, then kissed her hand and moved. Slowly they all made their introductions, each lingering his lips on her hand. Iliana played the innocent maiden, heavily pushing her innocence. She sat for a while, answering their questions with short, bleak answers.

Then, as was the plan, she warmed up to them. She answered their questions with more detailed and personal answers. Neal sat on one side of her, Faleron on the other. Whenever they asked her questions, she would occasionally rest a light, graceful hand on their arm or leg. Once she even brushed a hand across Faleron's chest, reaching over him for a piece of fruit. Playing it up, she forced a blush and faked embarrassment.

She kept a constant eye on Kel, who was to signal when they would end their game. Eventually, the boys remembered that she had said she was a page, and they grew restless. Iliana waited for those questions, and spent much time thinking of answers. It was Neal who got the courage to ask.

"You're a page? Are you on probation? Does Lord Wyldon treat you bad?" he asked in his wry drawl. He glanced at Kel, knowing that Kel watched their every move. Iliana also kept her eye on Kel. At this last question, Iliana got the first signal. Iliana knew what she was to do. Bringing tears to her eyes (Something she had mastered) Iliana began to tremble. When the boys jumped up to help her, she just trembled more.

"What's wrong?" Faleron cried. "Neal didn't offend you, did he?"

Not waiting for an answer, they all began to attack Neal, pummeling him with pillows and cushions. It was when one of the boys had put Neal in a headlock did Iliana start laughing. Kel held out for a moment longer, but only barely. Pretty soon, Kel and Iliana were rolling on the floor, clutching their 

bellies, as the boys stared down at them in disbelief. It took them several minutes to regain control. Wiping their eyes, both girls pulled themselves up to stand in front of the boys.

"You should see your faces right now," Kel informed them. "You all are shameless flirts."

"Us?" accused Neal. He was the only one, it appeared, that had regained his ability to speak. The others will still staring helplessly at the two females before them. "You're cousin was the one that was flirting with us."

"Actually, I'm not really her cousin," Iliana piped up. She might as well break it to them now, before they got all sorts of funny ideas. "I'm Iliana, and I'm not really a page. Sorry boys."

She nearly lost it again at the disappointed looks on all the boys' faces. They looked crestfallen, and Kel knew it was probably because they could not be with her for several years.

"Well then, why are you here? I surely would remember if I'd seen you before," demanded Neal. Iliana noticed that he had beautiful green eyes, and she had loved his sense of humor, however dry and sarcastic it was. He had a fierce look on his face, and Iliana felt her heart flutter slightly. Oh dear, she thought. I was only joking when I said that stuff about courting.

"I'm here as a student," she explained, using the same trick she had on Lalasa to try and get them to talk more. But Neal was still the only one who could speak.

"A student for what?" Well, at least it worked on Neal.

"A mage," she chirped. "I'm a student for Daine, Numair, and Alanna."

This got a very surprised look out of all of them.

"Daine?" Neal squeaked. "And Alanna? And _Numair_? What on Earth is your power like that you need all of them?"

"Well," Iliana hesitated. Looking each and every one of them in the eye, clearly unnerving them all, she continued. "I'm a wild mage, as well as a healer, and just an all-around mage. I need training from the best. If anyone tells about this, I will hunt you down, and you will not like what I do to you."

All of the boys gulped, and found themselves breathless at the thought that this dainty girl might maim them. They found it hard to believe, but none wanted to test her…abilities.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" demanded Kel. "Swear it on your honor, you dolts."

Hurriedly, they all swore it. None wanted the wrath of Kel and Iliana. Pleased with the results of their threats, Iliana and Kel sat, and Kel picked up her work again. After a moment, they looked up at the boys.

"Aren't you going to finish your work?" Kel inquired. They all sat themselves down quickly and resumed what they had been doing. This time, Iliana was her normal self, and after a few minutes, the 

boys relaxed enough to let her help them if they needed it. They seemed to accept her true self better than her flirty self, but were still and bit flustered.

My, Iliana thought. They're still being sort of silly about me. I suppose it's because they've never really seen anyone like me. I'm just different.

But she couldn't help but think that Neal was watching her more than the others, and, oddly enough, it excited her. I just hope I know what I'm getting into, she thought. He is four years older. Ah well. What happens happens, and nothing will change that.


	6. Authors Note

Hey guys. I just want to add this little author's note to talk a bit about the story and its future.

First off, I never did a disclaimer or anything like that, so here it is: I don't own any of this crap. Except Iliana I suppose, but that's beside the point.

Next, I just want to tell all of you that any compliments and suggestions that are sent to me are greatly appreciated, and if I like any plot suggestions enough, I may use them. But please don't be offended if I don't.

This story is meant to be long, and it's probably going to be 30-40 chapters. If it gets too long, I'll cut it off and write a sequel. This is meant to be like a book. One of my future goals is to write a book, so this is my trial run to see if people like my writing. As I said before, I greatly appreciate reviews, both compliments and constructive criticism.

Well, that's all I guess, so thank you for reading this, and I hope you'll continue to read it. Thank you so much for all the support so far.


	7. Reader Request

I have a major request for you, my readers

**I have a major request for you, my readers. I would like you to decide who will play Iliana's love interest. I am going to make several rules though.**

**A) No married men (i.e. Jon, George)**

**B) No practically married men (i.e. Numair)**

**C) No women (I have nothing against lesbians and whatnot, that's just not how I see the story)**

**D) I'd prefer no one that's a lot older than her. You know, like a million years.**

**E) If you like, you can suggest I make up a character, or you could even send me a description of a character you made, and I may use that**

**Thank you in advance for all your suggestions. I will probably use the majority vote, or if I fall in love with someone's made up character…well, it could turn out any which way. I myself am leaning towards Neal, but don't hesitate to contradict me and tell me I'm wrong. ******

**Thank you very much,**

**xxxsnowpixieyukikoxxx**


	8. Chapter 5

"Iliana," someone was shaking her. "Iliana, wake up! You need to wake up!"

"Why? I need to…sleep…" Iliana muttered, brushing the hand away. It left her for a moment, but soon it returned (like a bad nightmare, Iliana thought.) and it was much more forceful. "Fine! I'm up, I'm up!" Turning over and sitting up, Iliana rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at the person who had woken her. She jumped and squeaked, startling the woman who was gazing at her curiously.

"Who are you and why are you in my room!?" Iliana cried, wracking her sleepy brain, trying to figure out if she actually knew this woman.

"I'm Nali, your new maid. Didn't Daine and Numair tell you they hired me?" she said, fixing her gaze on the younger girl who was still sitting in bed, tangled in the sheets, looking terribly confused.

"No, they didn't tell me. But I was out late, studying with the pages," Kel said thoughtfully. She hadn't seen Daine since dinner, but she had known where Iliana was going to be. It must have been their idea of a joke or a surprise or something.

"Milady-"

"None of that," Iliana snapped, cutting her off. "I insist that you call me Iliana, as I will call you nothing other than Nali. I hate the informal stuff, and I'm not a noble, so there's no need for this milady business."

"Ok, then _Iliana_, you need to get up," Nali said, still casting a nervous glance at her mistress when she said her name. "Your meeting with the king and queen is in one bell, and you need to get ready."

"What!?" Iliana exclaimed, throwing the blankets onto the floor and jumping out of the bed. "I need to bathe, and I'll need clothes!"

Wordlessly, Nali pointed to a tub filled with steaming water. Iliana ran to it, ripping off her nightgown and undergarments as she went, and climbed into it, sinking under the surface. She quickly started washing her hair with the contents of a bottle sitting on the side of the tub. Nali grabbed the clothing Iliana had discarded and folded it over a chair. She moved to the bed, pulling the sheets back to their proper position.

"Are there any clothes that I can wear? I don't know if I have anything that isn't wrinkled from travel," Iliana asked, scrubbing her arms with a bar of soap.

"I noticed that. I got you those instead," Iliana looked at the indicated stool and saw that Nali had laid out a shift, dress, stockings, and slippers. They were an interesting color, a cream that seemed to sparkle with bits of silver. "My friend Lalasa made them. She is one of the best seamstresses in the city."

Iliana nodded her approval, then rose, easing herself carefully over the edge of the tub, grabbing a towel. She had fallen many times, and didn't want to repeat the experience. Drying herself quickly, she 

found a loincloth and breastband in her packs, and put them on. Shedding the towel, she quickly drew on the cream outfit.

"What am I going to do with my hair?" she wondered aloud, running a hand through the damp tresses.

"I can do that. Have you a comb?" Nali came over and drew Iliana's hand out of her hair. "Don't do that. It makes your hair frizzy."

"Yes, I do. Here," Iliana handed her maid a comb that she drew out of yet another of her packs. Nari took it and started combing Iliana's hair, working a chunk from the front loose. She started to braid it, winding it along the crown of her head.

"Your hair will dry straight, right?"

"Yes." There was a silence as Nali concentrated on her work and Iliana sat, enjoying it. She loved when people did her hair. It felt like they were massaging her head.

"So, what should I know about my new mistress?" asked Nali lightly. "I need to know about you if I'm to work for you."

"Well, the only thing interesting about me that is important is that I'm a mage. Like, I have healing magic, wild magic, and basically every other kind of magic there is," Iliana said, eyes closed as she relished in the fact that she didn't have to fight her hair today.

"Well, then, I'll be sure to not do anything to upset you, else you might zap me," Nali said, laughing. Iliana grinned. Good, she thought. She's not going to be all prissy about things.

"You better watch out," Iliana said wiggling her fingers, which drew another laugh from her maid.

"There," Nali said, tying the braid with a cream ribbon. "You're done. Now go. Daine and Master Numair are probably waiting for you."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Iliana reached Daine and Numair's rooms as fast as she could without mussing the dress and making herself all sweaty and disgusting. Pausing to shake the wrinkles out of her skirts, Iliana reached up and knocked on the door. After a moment, Daine opened the door.

"Iliana, hello. You are right on time," Daine said. Standing back to let the girl enter the room, Daine caught a better look at her student. "Wow. Don't you look nice?"

"Thank you," Iliana beamed up at her. "Where's Numair?"

"Still getting ready," Daine rolled her eyes. "I swear, he takes longer to get ready than any court lady. And this isn't even a major thing. It's very small, just us and their highnesses."

Iliana laughed, and looked around the room. It was not nearly as neat as her own, with clothes, books and papers strewn everywhere. Apparently, neither of the residents cared much.

Finally, Numair walked out of a door to Iliana's right, dressed simply. She wondered how he could take so long and not look extravagant.

"Oh, good. You're here. We should get going then," he said. Daine and Iliana looked at each other and burst out laughing. He just stared at them, then walked out the door. "Childish."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

They reached Jon and Thayet's quarters just as the noon bell rang. Numair knocked on the door, and soon a servant opened it and admitted them with a bow. Numair and Daine walked in as if it was an everyday occurrence that they ate lunch with the king and queen. Iliana hesitated a brief moment before she followed her teachers into the waiting room.

"Daine, Numair, hello," a deep, rich voice said. A man, King Jonathan, she presumed, walked into the room. Iliana fought the urge to curtsey, seeing as neither Daine nor Numair did such. Instead she just stood there like an idiot, openly staring at one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.

"And you must be Iliana," his voice shook her out of her thoughts. She looked up to find that all three of them were looking at her, smiling.

"Yes, sire," she managed to say. She found she was breathless. Daine had a humored look on her face. Jon smiled and went to talk to Numair about something, leading them all into another room. Daine fell back and whispered into Iliana's ear.

"Don't worry. He has that effect on most of us. I did the same thing when I first met him," that made Iliana smile a bit, but she was still embarrassed. Suddenly, she started giggling, which caused Daine to giggle. Soon they were both all out laughing, clutching at their stomachs as they gasped for air. Jon popped his head back into the room, wondering what the noise was. What he saw surprised him, and he just slowly backed out of the room.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"Now, why don't you tell us why exactly you needed to see us so urgently?" asked Thayet. She had arrived a few minutes after Iliana and Daine had recovered from their laugh attack. Iliana looked at Daine, who turned to look at Numair. He glared at them and pursed his lips. Iliana leaned around Daine and both of them gave him their best puppy-dog faces. His scowl deepened, and in response, Daine and Iliana made their bottom lips quiver and Iliana even made her eyes shine like she would cry. He finally gave up and turned to their hosts, who were watching with intense curiosity.

"Well, it seems I have been _chosen_ to tell you this piece of information," Numair said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "Basically, Iliana has wild magic, like Daine, healing magic more powerful than any healer we know of, and a Gift that is more powerful than mine, and she specializes in no area. She's good at them all. At least, that's what her guardian from the Divine Realms told her. There, are you two happy?" They both nodded, watching with both curiosity and humor at the reactions of the king and queen.

Unusual looks crossed Jon and Thayet's faces when they heard this. Jon had a calculating and planning look, while Thayet had both a pitying and a determined gleam on hers. Iliana wondered what each was thinking, though she was not entirely sure she wanted to know. She waited, picking at the chunk of venison on the plate in front of her. She had tried it, it would have been rude not to, but she wouldn't eat it. She refused to eat any animal that was not domestic unless she absolutely had to. That meant not game.

Finally, Thayet spoke, her words slow and calculated. "You mean to tell me that you have found a girl of twelve that is you, Daine, and Alanna all rolled into one, only several times more powerful? And you're sure of this?" Thayet seemed perplexed as to the fact that this was real. Jon was still too dumbfounded to speak, it seemed.

This time, Iliana spoke. "Well, I don't know if any of this is true. None of us really do. All I know is that Chioke said that I have a super powerful Gift, I'm a really good healer, and I'm basically half People. She also said that I'd better learn my lessons well, as soon there will be a time when the fate of the whole realm will depend in how well I know my powers."

"Who's Chioke?" was all that Jon said. He was still deep in thought, though it was a slightly darker process, considering this recent information. The fate of the whole realm, in the hands of this little girl, he thought. That doesn't sound good. Though they're sense of time is different than ours. Their soon could be ten years from now.

"Chioke is the first female cougar goddess. She's my guardian. Here," Iliana showed them her pendent. They checked it over almost as thoroughly as Numair had, though neither of them tried a Word of Power on it. She doubted either had the power to do such. Finally, they handed it back to Iliana, who took it with relief. She felt naked without it. She clasped it back on as servants cleared away the last of their dishes. Numair, Jon, and Thayet moved to a couch to talk in hushed tones, about her, she knew. Daine stayed with her.

After a long time, during which Daine and Iliana had discussed animals and the magic that connected the woman and girl to them, Jon, Thayet, and Numair rose. Coming over to join the young women, they sunk into the chairs nearest them.

"Well, it's set then. Alanna will teach you healing, Daine will teach you wild magic, and Numair will teach you everything else you must know," Jon informed her. "One more thing. Can you read and write, and do mathematics? If you can't, you need to be enrolled in classes immediately."

"Yes, I can do all those things," she replied hotly. "Why does everyone think that just because I'm not noble-born, I'm stupid and uneducated?"

"Well, you and Alanna will get along just fine," Jon replied dryly. "She has a temper also. Remind me to beware of both of you, with your sharp tongues."

Iliana smiled sweetly at him. "I try," she told him in her most sickeningly sweet, girly voice, batting her long eyelashes at him. Everyone laughed at this. After several moments of light conversation, Numair rose.

"Jon, we must take our leave now," Numair said. The rest of the group rose as well, Daine and Iliana almost jumping up. As much as they liked the monarchs, neither of them found the educated talk of Jon and Numair exciting. Daine took Numair's arm and walked with Jon out them room. Iliana was about to follow when Thayet drew her back.

"I realize you have no family or friends at court. Should you need anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to come to me. I will help you as much as possible. If I am not able to help you, I know that Alanna and Daine would offer the same as I. You know where to find me." Iliana nodded and they walked into the next room to join the others. Numair was reaching for the door when Jon remembered something.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I spoke to the palace staff. You will be able to move into your new rooms in two days. It would have been sooner, but those rooms haven't been used in a long time, and they show it."

"Thank you sire," Iliana curtsied. Quickly, Jon pulled her out of the curtsey and offered his hand instead. She stared at it for a moment before taking it and shaking it.

"Any friend and student of Daine and Numair is a friend of mine, and of Thayet. So I insist you call me Jon," Iliana just stood there. What an odd place this was. She's never heard of a monarch befriending a subject.

"Friend?" She was terribly confused, and she knew it showed.

"Yes, friend. You live at court now, and you are a mage of Tortall. I at least try to make friends with those people that fall into those categories. Those are the people that I don't want to be enemies with. Besides, what kind of king would I be if I wasn't friends with the members of my court?"

"I guess not a very good one," she said blushing. "Thank you so much…Jon, Thayet."

Thayet hugged her quickly. To Daine, it was obvious that Thayet wanted to mother the child, since Iliana's real mother would be two good days ride away, and a girl needed a mother figure. Good riddance, Daine thought. I'm not fit for that position. I've never had _a_ child, let alone a daughter.

"Well, Jon, Thayet. We'd best be going. I have some things to take care of, and one of the horses in the Kings Own stables is due any day now. No doubt Daine wants to check on her. Iliana will find things to do."

They bid their hosts goodbye, and made their way back to Daine and Numair's rooms. Numair waited until Daine had entered the room (she was rushing to change so she could visit the pregnant horse), before he pulled Iliana aside. "I spoke to the professors that teach the pages. If you wish to attend classes with the pages, you may. You will not have to do the homework, as I will also be teaching you, and it seems that I am never satisfied unless I do it myself," he sighed, as if it were a great burden. "Why can't I just let other people do stuff for me? It would save me _so_ much time."

Iliana giggled. She realized that attending those classes would mean more time with her new friends. "I'd like that very much," she informed him. He nodded, already distant, probably thinking about some experiment or something. She laughed and told him to go do whatever he wanted to do so badly. He gave her a gracious look and retreated to his room.

Iliana giggled again, and made her way to her room. She drew her necklace over her neck. From it hung the golden cougar and the key to her room. She stuck the key in the lock and turned it, pushing open her door. Closing it behind her, she turned to find Nali was still in her room, with a guest. They were mending shirts and breeches that Iliana recognized as her own. Walking farther into the room, Iliana peeked at Nali's companion. It was Lalasa.

"Hey Nali. Lalasa, what're you doing here?" Iliana asked, looking carefully at their handiwork. Usually, she was in charge of mending her own clothing. It was finer stitching than she had ever seen before. She silently made a note to bring her things to Nali if they ever needed mending, instead of attempting it herself.

"Well, Kel has classes right now, and I've nothing to do. I just patched up all of her stuff, you see. Nali said you had tons of things that needed some work, so I came to help her. Oh, I hope you don't mind that we unpacked your clothing. It just gets so wrinkled when you leave it like that," Lalasa explained. Iliana shrugged. She really didn't care that much.

She was sitting on her bed, thinking, when she caught Lalasa and Nali casting looks at her. She watched them for a bit, then stood up, hands on her hips. "What're you two staring at?" she demanded. It bugged her when people watched her.

"We were just wondering what you were thinking about?" Nali said, though Iliana was sure her maid was fighting off laughter.

"Nothing really. Are you going to tell me why you are about to burst out laughing, or am I going to have to force it out of you?" Iliana saw a panicked look cross both their faces. "Not my magic or physical force. I know other ways." As if to prove it, Iliana walked up to Nali and poked her ribs. Nali squeaked, and twisted, but Iliana kept poking her.

"It's just something Kel told me after you left last night," Lalasa said, jumping up to try and help Nali escape Iliana's clutched.

"What did she say?" Iliana stopped, and sat back down on her bed, crossing her legs and staring expectantly up at the two maids.

"Just that once you left, Neal wouldn't stop talking about you. She said that she would probably be hearing some poetry from him today, about your eyes or your hair or your lips or something," Lalasa said wickedly. Iliana blushed and looked down at the floor, nervously playing with the sleeve of her dress. Lalasa looked at the young girl and shock played across her features. "You…he…no!"

Startled, Iliana jerked up. "What? What about me and him!?"

"You fancy him too! You do!" Lalasa cried as Iliana's blush deepened. "Well, this is going to be interesting. You two would be good together."

"You really think?" Iliana glanced hopefully up at the two maids. They started. There was a look in Iliana's eyes, one that wasn't seen often on the face of such a young person. It made them worried for her. This girl was so sweet. Neither wanted to see Iliana get hurt.


	9. Chapter 6

The next morning, Iliana woke as usual at dawn. She expected no company, as Nali had told her that no servants went to their masters and mistresses before the bell that brought all to their work. But when she sat up in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she saw that she had company. She tensed for a moment, unsure of who was in her room and why he was there, but soon relaxed. It was her father.

"Da, why are you in here?" Noticing his bags were at his feet, packed, she wrinkled her brow. "Why do you have your bags?"

"Iliana, I know you wanted me to stay longer, but I can't. It's nearly time for me to take my cattle to the market to sell and to buy new ones. I must get back to Tonam and prepare. I'm leaving after breakfast," he knew it would greatly upset his daughter and he hated to see her upset. You have to do it, he told himself. It'll be good for her, to learn independence, and you have to do your job.

Iliana felt herself tear up, and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. She knew it was what her father had to do in order to support their family. She sighed. She just hate to see him go so soon. "I understand. I know that you have to go and do your job. I just hate to be alone." The tears she had wiped fought so hard won, and they poured down her cheeks. James rose and sat next to his daughter, enveloping her in a hug. He stroked her hair slowly and let her have her cry. He knew better than any that she would rather get it out now and not embarrass herself in front of any that might see her as she saw him off.

Finally her sobs lessened and she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. She looked up at him and gave a watery laugh. "Well, we should at least eat breakfast together today, if you're leaving. But you have to promise me that you'll come back and visit me. And you have to bring mama and Mlina too. They would love it here."

Laughing, James kissed the top of Iliana's head. "Of course. I will bring them as soon as all of us can get away. Now get up and get dressed. I'll wait for you in the hall. Do you want to eat with your friends or mine?"

"Yours," Iliana said, thinking. "I'd rather not face mine just yet about this. They are really good at seeing and bringing out emotions." She smiled at him and shooed him out of her room.

"Now, what shall I wear?" she said to herself.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

During the following week, Iliana moved into her new rooms, which were right next to Daine and Numair's. As fall turned quickly to winter, Iliana began her training. She still joined the pages every night to study, now bringing work of her own. She found that two of these boys-Neal and Faleron (A/N: I 

don't remember if he was the one with the Gift. Correct me if I'm wrong.)-were Gifted, and she pestered them endlessly until they helped her with her Gift. Alanna had returned by then, and had not hesitated to add to Iliana's workload. Soon, she had more work than the pages, though she had more time to complete it as she did not have physical training, nor punishment work. Her teachers, she gathered, were also much more understanding than theirs,

"Gods! Is being a page this hard or did I just choose the hard path!?" exclaimed Iliana one night, throwing down her work. The boys and Kel looked up from their work, surprised. They had never seen Iliana lose her temper, just as they hardly saw Kel lose hers.

"Iliana?" Neal asked. Looking up, Iliana saw that his eyes were filled with concern. He had become her best friend of the bunch since she had first met them all. "Are you alright?"

This was too much for her. Tears started streaming down her face. She had to fight to keep herself from openly wailing. She would not be humiliated further in front of her friends. She didn't even notice that Neal was ushering the others out of the room, despite their protests. She only noticed when Neal knelt in front of her, looking up at her with his beautiful green eyes.

"Iliana, what's wrong?" The worry in his voice was oddly comforting to her.

"I miss my mother and my father and Mlina and Penny and Sheena a-a-and…" she wailed, losing the control she had had on the sobs when she saw how he was looking at her.

"There there," Neal stood and picked her up, sitting where she had just sat on his bed, pulling her into what he hoped was a comforting hug. She's still just a child, he thought. And she's probably never been away from home like this.

Finally her sobs quieted, and he looked down at her. Letting her go a little, regretfully, he handed her a handkerchief. She dried her eyes and handed the cloth back to him.

"Thank you. I'm sorry about that," she said, avoiding his eyes. She was so embarrassed. Never had she had such an outbreak before, and to have it happen in front of Kel, Neal and the others.

"No, it's ok. I completely understand," Neal smiled at her and Iliana felt her heart flutter. She smiled back, and she saw an unusual look pass through his eyes. She tried to pinpoint it, but it was gone in an instant. She had thought it was passion, and for some reason, it felt familiar. Almost like I have the same emotion, she thought absently. Then she realized, she did. I really like him!

Slowly, she leaned over to him and she saw surprise, then joy cross his face. She let her eyes flutter closed and knew that he was doing the same. Slowly, almost carefully, she brushed her lips over his. This was a new experience for her and she didn't want to mess it up. She let Neal deepen the kiss slightly, then pulled away, her lips tingling as she opened her emerald eyes to his bright green ones.

"Iliana," he breathed. He had courted-and kissed-girls before, but never had he felt this way about someone. He knew that what she doing was against Wyldon's rules, but he didn't care. Wriggling 

out from under a blushing Iliana, he pulled her close to him and placed his lips over hers, gently at first, then more passionately. After a few moments, he pulled away. Iliana kept her eyes closed for a moment, savoring the taste of his mouth on hers. (A/n: Yea, I know that sounds a little weird. Get over it! This isn't what I normally write about, so I just based that last sentence off of other fanfics I've read.) When she opened her eyes, she saw that Neal was shaking his head, mouth moving silently, like he was arguing with himself.

Worried, she placed her hand on his arm. "Neal, what's wrong?"

"We…I can't do this," he buried his head in his hands.

"There's nothing wrong with what we did. It's natural. No one can fault us for that," she said. "You aren't ashamed of it, are you? You didn't want to kiss me?" She knew tears were once again making their way into her eyes. Neal jumped up.

"No! I wanted to, I did! It's just…if Lord Wyldon finds out…"

"Oh," Lalasa had mentioned this, but Iliana had forgotten. "There has to be a way for us to continue."

"Well, on my days off, we could meet somewhere. And you could try to eat meals with us. If we are really desperate, I can smuggle you into my room. But the penalties if we get caught, for me, will be harsh," Neal laughed as a mixture of disappointment, excitement, and determination crossed Iliana's face.

"You could always sneak into my rooms," she said, biting her lip, trying to think of ways to get around the rules. "This would be so much easier if we were betrothed or something. Aren't there any exceptions to the rule?"

"Well, it's not exactly a rule. Lord Wyldon told Kel that she was not allowed to 'cohort' with any of the boys, and if she chose to be in our rooms, or if we were in her's, the door had to be open. He also told us to leave the palace maids and such alone, though that doesn't really happen. I don't know where you fit in, since you are neither employed by the palace or a page. All I do know is that during my father's time and his father's time, a blind eye was turned to this stuff, to a point, of course."

"Well then, we'll just have to be sure Wyldon doesn't catch us, because none of the palace servants will tell, and most teachers won't either," she smiled coyly, making a note to ask Nali what could be done to ensure that none of the servants would tell.

"Good," she smiled at him and leaned in toward him. He laughed against her lips and obeyed her silent command. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door.

"Neal, Iliana? Are you guys ok? Can we come back in yet?" It was Faleron.

They jumped apart. Iliana looked at Neal as her cursed under his breath. He was quickly turning red. She glared at him, indicating the blush. He closed his eyes, concentrating, and it faded. He smile and winked. It must be a healer's trick, Iliana thought. I should learn it.

Another knock came, this time more persistent. Neal went to the door as Iliana grabbed her work.

"You guys are so impatient. Have a little respect for privacy," Neal growled, punching Faleron in the arm lightly. "She's fine now. Just a bit homesick, right Iliana?"

"Yes, homesick," Iliana muttered, staring down at the paper on her lap. Kel eyed the two suspiciously, but decided that they would tell her when they were ready. Of course, none of the others thought anything of it, and quickly resumed their work.

"So, who can help me with this anatomy lesson?"

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**Sorry it always takes me forever to update. I just have a really busy summer schedule with swimming practice and all, so yeah. Um, let's see…what can I say? As always, reviews and suggestions are greatly appreciated and will always be considered, so don't hesitate to tell me anything and everything that pops into your heads…Actually, don't tell me **_**everything.**_** I don't know if I could take it. But, yeah. Oh, and I can't for the life of me remember all the people in their study group, so I would love if someone could tell me. I don't currently have the books with me, otherwise I'd look it up myself. ******

**Anywho, please review, and please keep reading! I 3 you all!!**


	10. Chapter 7

**First off, I'm going to warn you now, it will take longer for me to update from now on. I had everything up to now already written (that's what I did in school while my teachers talked), but now I have to think of everything, so it may take longer to publish. Second, I want your opinion on something. There was some concern expressed about Neal being the romantic interest. I can still change that. If you think that instead, I should have Iliana and Neal date for a bit, then introduce a new character of my own creation and have him become Iliana's new love interest, please tell me. If I have enough support of this idea, I will gladly make it happen. (The break-up of Iliana and Neal will NOT make their friendship go away. It will be a mutual thing, perhaps when Yuki comes…)**

**Thanks for reading, and enjoy.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Iliana was in her rooms, carefully examining a picture of a rabbit's bone structure, when someone knocked on her door. She glanced up, frowning, and continued to study the picture. The knock came again, louder this time. Iliana scowled and went to the door. She yanked it open. "What?"

"Sorry. Did I come at a bad time?" It was Alanna. The older woman was leaning casually against the doorframe, purple eyes glimmering with mirth. Iliana immediately blushed and moved to allow Alanna to enter the room.

"I'm sorry about that. I was just studying something Daine gave me," Iliana explained, still red. Alanna laughed and patted her pupil on the shoulder.

"I was kidding. I'm much worse than that when I'm interrupted. Just ask Jon. He usually gets the worst of it," Alanna laughed again at the look on Iliana's face that appeared at the thought of someone doing such a thing to the king. "He's just such an easy target. Well, him and your friend Neal. I've known him since he was little."

This caught Iliana's ear, and she turned to face her teacher. "How?" Why am I so interested? I can't let people know, she thought, mentally kicking herself. If you're too curious, they'll figure it out.

"Oh, I know Duke Baird-his father-very well. Baird is the Chief Healer at the palace and I help him out whenever I can. I could tell you loads of secrets about Neal. He's quite an interesting person, despite the common belief," Alanna said mildly, looking absently around at Iliana's living quarters.

Iliana was so taken aback that she couldn't make a sound. She just opened and closed her mouth, which made Alanna stare at her with curiosity written all over her face. "Do you have a special interest in Neal? That would be a fun scenario to watch." She watched Iliana's face turn another, very interesting hue of red before changing the subject. "So. How do you feel about learning how to use the 

sword and whatnot? I'd teach you the bow and arrow too but that's more Daine's field than mine. What do you say? We can start whenever."

"That would be great! I've always wanted to learn that kind of thing but in my village, we didn't have the skills or the weapons to teach such things. I know hand-to-hand combat pretty well and I'm good with a long bow and a cross bow. Those were the only things I could learn back home. When can we start?" Iliana jumped up eagerly. Then she thought of something. She sat back down, dejected.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't have a sword or anything, and I certainly can't afford one. I guess you can't teach me after all," Iliana was close to crying. She wanted to learn so badly, but she couldn't possibly buy all the necessary items.

"Is that all? Well, we can fix that. Come on, we're going shopping," Alanna shuddered a bit at the thought, but steeled herself and waited for Iliana to respond.

"How?"

"You are my student. It is my job to make sure that you are properly outfitted for what I want you to do. That means that I am going to buy you weapons. Now let's go," Alanna was getting impatient. She was not known for her patience. She was actually known for her impatience, temper, and probably her purple eyes. At least, that's what she guessed. She had no interest in court gossip and therefore didn't know what she was known for.

"Oh, no! I can't let you do that! It would be so expensive!" cried Iliana, jumping up again.

"I can and I will. Now come on. Let's get this over with already. I hate shopping," Alanna took the opportunity and grabbed the flustered girl's arm and pulled her out of the room, only pausing to close the door behind her.

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Iliana nudged the door to her room open with her foot. Almost falling, she managed to make it into the room and shut the door before collapsing under the weight of her packages. Alanna had insisted upon buying a sword, dagger, a good quiver, some basic armor, and the tools necessary to clean it all. Exhausted, Iliana laid on the floor for a moment before standing and unpacking everything, hanging it on the weapons rack she had noticed that morning. Once that was done, she quickly cleaned everything, and changed into a lilac dress. She ran a brush through her hair and pulled it up into a horsetail, securing it with a lilac ribbon. She grabbed her books and assignments and walked out into the hall, making her way to Neal's rooms.

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"Hey guys!" she walked into Neal's room and took her usual spot on the floor between Kel and Neal. It was then that she noticed Kel wasn't there. "Where's Kel?"

"Oh, she got in another fight. She's probably getting her punishment work from The Stump. She'll be here soon," Neal said matter-of-factly. She rolled her eyes at his name for Lord Wyldon and sighed.

"I wish I had been there," she said wistfully. The boys immediately stopped talking and stared at her. "What?"

"You wish…that you had been in that fight…between Kel and Joren?" Merric asked, incredulous. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"No. I just think it would have been fun. I fought boys all the time back home," Iliana was confused.

"Why in the world would you want to fight for fun!? And why did you fight all the time back home!?" Neal cried. Iliana was quickly learning that he was a drama queen.

"Well, back home, lots of the boys thought I was a freak because of my Gift. Not to mention I was better and hand-to-hand combat and archery than they were. I think all of you know how boys solve jealousy," Iliana explained, shrugging, as she skimmed over an assignment from Daine on the muscle structure of an otter. "Plus, some boys thought I was a pretty, defenseless maiden," she smirked. "They got it good."

The boys just stared at her. Never had they encountered anyone like this girl before. Cleon was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, Merric and Seaver were just staring and Neal was sputtering and making unusual croaking noises. It was at that moment that Kel entered the room. She took one look around the room and turned to Iliana.

"Did you say something about you fighting?" she knew these boys well, and had known them for almost two years, but somehow, they still doubted a women's fighting ability.

"Well, they said you had been in a fight, and I said I wished I had been there to help you and whatever because it would be fun, and then they asked why I thought that and I said that I fought all the time back home and they wanted to know why. So I told them and now they can't talk, which we should take complete advantage of, by the way," Iliana said, watching as Kel's facial expression went from confusion to mirth to a complete combination of the two.

"Why did you fight at home? I fought in the Yamani Islands, but all women at the Imperial Court do," every time Kel thought she knew Iliana, the other girl threw out another surprise.

"Well, boys got jealous because I was better than them at the combat skills we did learn and they thought I was a freak because I had the Gift. Not all of them thought that, but some did. Others thought that I was just some pretty little maiden that couldn't fend for herself and they thought they could take advantage. Soon enough, they learned," Iliana said, sighing. "Now come on. You're never going to get anything done if you just sit there and stare."

Slowly, the boys came out of their shock and resumed their work. But they still cast unusual looks in Iliana's direction, to which she responded with a smile and a wink.

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"And then what happened?" Alanna was clutching her belly, laughing, while Daine was draped over a chair, head thrown back as she struggled to suppress the extreme laughter. Iliana was telling them about her situation the previous night at the study session.

"They all just sat there. Cleon looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't think of anything, Merric and Seaver and the rest stared, and Neal-"Iliana paused, laughter taking hold of her again. "Neal was squawking and croaking and waving his arms around like a maniac," she finished. She couldn't hold it anymore and she burst out laughing. Daine finally let go and soon, all three of them were rolling around on the floor, laughing. They didn't even notice when Numair came into the room. He took one look at them and back silently out of the room. How did I get stuck with those three? he thought to himself as he went back to his workroom.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was really only about 10 minutes, of laughter, the three women regained control of themselves. Iliana and Alanna wiped tears out of their eyes and Daine clutched her said with a small grimace. Laughing hurt!

"Then Kel came in and she knew right away that I had said something about women fighting. They're so silly. You would think that with such powerful women all over court, they would know by now that we can fight," Iliana said, shaking her head.

"They have very thick skulls, those boys. Even with Kel training with them, they can't think right. Now, if we only allowed women to be knights. Oh, that would be the day," Alanna said, gazing wistfully at nothing. After a moment, something in her head clicked, and she jolted up. "You know what we should do?"

"What?" Iliana and Daine said in unison, both a little scared. Alanna, though usually sensible, could come up with some crazy ideas.

"Once we get you trained better, we should have a little competition with some of your friends. I bet they would take you on in an instant if you threatened their 'masculinity' and their skills with weapons. Well?" Alanna looked at the younger girl, determined. Iliana thought about it, biting her lip.

"Why not? When though?"

"Well, a lot of them stay around her during the summer, or they leave for a little while to visit home. I don't think any of them leave for the full summer," Daine said thoughtfully. She stayed at the palace most of the year, since it seemed that Numair was constantly needed by the king. "I'm sure you could convince them to participate. Just give them your puppy-dog face. That works on most men. That's how I managed to get some boys in Carthak to let me compete with them when we visited that time. They thought I was no good with a bow. Silly fools."

"Then it's decided. We'll start your training tomorrow. You can attend morning classes with the pages and then our classes, then you'll have a lunch/study break, then we'll do weapons training. Though your training will be less time than the pages, you have a private trainer who just so happens to be the Kings Champion."

"This is going to be so much fun!" Iliana exclaimed. "Can I tell Neal and Kel? Neal would never compete anyways, and Kel would find it hilarious."

"Sure. I'd ask Kel to join us, but I don't think any of the boys would go against Kel when they know exactly what she's capable of. But you could get her to teach you some of those Yamani moves. That would be useful," Alanna said. "In fact, I'd go learn them with you. **(A/N: I know that Alanna wasn't aloud near Kel in the books, but just humor me, ok?) **I've always wanted to visit the Yamani Islands, but I always had some duty or assignment or whatever."

"Alright, I'll ask her at study group tonight. Now," Iliana said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "What do I get to learn now?"

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"You're doing what!?" Neal exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air as he paced in front of his bed, on which Kel and Iliana were perched. They watched him as he paced, brows wrinkled in confusion. "What would possess you to agree to that!?"

"It's not that big of a deal," Iliana said. Turning to Kel, she asked, "Is he always so dramatic?"

"Yeah, pretty much," was her answer, which provoked a series of squawks from Neal.

"Dramatic? Dramatic!? You are calling me DRAMATIC!?"

"Duh!" Iliana and Kel chorused. Neal stopped pacing, and stood there, staring at his two companions. They met his gaze steadily for a moment, then started making funny faces at him. He stared for a moment longer, then threw his arms in the air again.

"Both of you are crazy," he stated with a sigh. Finally, he sat down and picked up his work. Moments later Merric, Seaver, and Cleon entered the room, followed shortly by Faleron and Prince Roald. Esmond was much later, but he had punishment duty this week, so that was expected. All of them looked curiously at Neal's still red face and Iliana and Kel's humored ones, and shrugged. They all knew Neal was a drama queen, even if he didn't.


	11. Chapter 8

The winter was harsh that year, but Iliana was a mountain girl and was used to harsh cold. Secretly, she was disappointed when the snow began to melt and winter bloomed into spring. Her training was coming along very well, and all of her teachers told her that she was very advanced for her age. Even Numair, Daine, and Alanna were impressed with how quickly she caught on to the concepts they taught her. By the start of spring, Iliana had learned many advanced spells from Numair; to communicate with, heal, and share minds with animals from Daine, who was now teaching her how to become them; and Alanna had taught her so much about healing that Iliana was often called to help with patients at the infirmary. Besides that, all of the Mithran priests praised her work, as did many of her other teachers (except for Master Oakbridge, but he was convinced she should curtsey, so he was a bad teacher anyways.)

Alanna had also started teaching the young girl how to fight, with various weapons. Iliana proved to be a quick hand with a sword (though Alanna was pleased to note, not as quick as herself), and a natural with a bow. Whoever had taught the girl hand-to-hand fighting was a genius, as Iliana could easily put Alanna in the dust, though Alanna had never really taken to that sort of thing. The girl was not as good with a dagger, and Alanna made a mental note to ask George to teach her when he was at court. It was an art he had been perfecting all his life.

Iliana worked hard to perfect whatever her teachers gave her. She had taken Chioke's words to heart, and would not let countless people suffer in the future for her laziness now.

Her relationship with Neal continued to blossom, and she found herself needing to be with him more and more, and she thought he felt the same. They had told Kel, and she had been very happy for them, even when Iliana privately asked if she was sure she was fine with it. Iliana could have sworn that Kel may have had feelings for Neal, but Kel insisted that she and Neal were just friends.

Kel and Iliana had grown extremely close in the time they had known each other. Iliana spent almost all of her free time that wasn't with Neal with Kel. One night, when Kel and Iliana were wandering the halls together, they came upon what seemed to be a normal sight for Kel, but was a first for Iliana.

Joren of Stone Mountain and his cronies were sitting in a small library, laughing as they pushed various items off tables while a first-year boy she didn't know cleaned them up, struggling to keep up with his tormentors. Sighing, Kel stepped into the room.

"Again, Joren? And just when I thought you'd grown up. Clearly I need to learn my lesson," Kel said in a loud, clear voice. Iliana crept up behind her, peering around her friend, curious as to the appearance of the boy she'd heard so much about. He was definitely one of the most attractive boys she'd ever seen, but cruelty and hate distorted his features into an ugly mask. Iliana stepped to stand beside Kel, pulling her hair up in a bun, tying it with the ribbon that she always kept around her wrist. She knew from experience that loose hair was an ideal anchor for a determined attacker. The movement caught the older boys' attention, and they turned their cold gazes on her.

Iliana felt their eyes looking over her inch by inch, examining every part of her being. She knew immediately that they had never seen her before from the looks on their faces. Obviously, they were caught off guard by her appearance. She smirked, knowing then and there that she could use her beauty as a weapon against them. Boys like that always hesitated to hit her, scared they would bruise her or whatnot. Like I'd be in a fight if I cared, she thought.

The boy called Joren stepped forward to address the girls. "You should learn your place, _Kel_," he spat her name, trying to make it an insult. "This is none of your concern, and this is no place for a girl. Leave now, before we make you leave."

Kel laughed and shook her head. "If you think I'll listen to that, you're even more stupid than I thought."

Joren snarled and took another step forward. Both girls move into a fighting stance. This caught Joren's eye, and he stopped. "Who are you?"

"Iliana. And you must be the idiotic oaf that I've heard so many things about," Iliana said, offering a sweet smile.

"You should leave now, before we ruin that pretty little face of yours," Joren smirked, and Iliana knew that this boy may be different. His cronies wouldn't touch her, at least not hard, for fear of harming her appearance, but Joren wouldn't hesitate to break her nose and give her a black eye. OH well, Iliana thought. No pain, no gain.

"You must be dumber than everyone thought, if you think I'm going to back away from a pretty boy like you," Iliana taunted, and Joren's face twisted more with rage.

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug before leaping at Kel. Behind him, Vincent and Zahir jumped to help. Vincent, who Iliana had guessed-correctly-would go to help Joren, did just that. Zahir, on the other hand, came at Iliana immediately. He leapt at her, but her training with Alanna was starting to show. She grabbed his outstretched hand and ducked, twisting. He went flying over her to hit a chair. Deciding to make use of his absence, she grabbed the back of Vincent's tunic and yanked, hard, sending him to the floor. He had a horrible stance. This freed Kel's arms, and she quickly threw a punch which connected solidly with Joren's skull. Iliana felt a presence behind her and ducked as Zahir's fist whistled over her head. She grabbed it and spun, twisting his arm behind his back. She held it, pulling it farther then was comfortable, then threw him into a rising Vincent.

Kel's yelp drew her attention. Joren had her pinned and was about to punch her in the face. Iliana tackled him, easily pushing him off Kel. Kel jumped to her feet and spun, lashing out with her foot to kick Vincent in the belly. Iliana landed on top of Joren, thankfully, and she quickly knelt on his arms so he couldn't move them. She slapped him once, hard, then jumped off of him. He laid there, dazed, before pushing himself off the floor with a growl. Kel and Iliana backed up until they were back to back.

Grimfaced, Kel landed a solid kick to Zahir's thigh. "So, what do you think of your first fight?" she asked Iliana.

"This is great," Iliana answered. "I'm loving it."

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Iliana stood outside Lord Wyldon's office. Kel was in there now, getting her punishment from him. The three older boys had already been, and they had left, though not before giving both girls cocky smirks.

Kel opened the door and stepped out. She had looked better. A black eye was rising under both her eyes, her nose was probably broken, and a large amount of bruises were beginning to appear on every patch of skin visible to Iliana. "He wants to see you," Kel's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Thank you," Iliana said. Kel had already explained what she should and shouldn't say to Lord Wyldon. Kel held the door open for Iliana, giving her an encouraging look before closing the door.

"Come in." Iliana walked forward until she was standing right in front of Lord Wyldon's desk. She knew she didn't look too good either. From what she could feel, she had a large number of bruises, a black eye, a bloody nose, several still-bleeding cuts on her being, and probably two broken fingers. She had figured that Alanna could help her heal them all herself later. It would be great practice.

"Yes, Lord Wyldon?" Inside, Iliana was scared out of her mind, but she presented a calm manner.

"Would you care to tell me what happened?"

"I fell, sir," Iliana said, straightening and holding her head high. She would not let herself appear weak in front of him.

"I figured as much. Since you are not under my authority, I cannot punish you as I would the others, but I have written a letter those who's authority you are under," he said, handing her a sealed letter. "Please deliver this to Daine, Numair, and Alanna immediately. Dismissed."

"Of course, Lord Wyldon," she bowed and exited the room. Kel had waited for her outside. "I need to go find Daine, Numair, and Alanna. You can come with me if you want. They're all in Daine and Numair's room."

"Lord Wyldon told me to go to a healer," Kel said, falling into step with Iliana as they walked down the corridor.

"Well, Alanna is a healer. And I need to get myself healed too. I think I broke a couple fingers," Iliana said, giggling. "I think they got off worse though."

Kel laughed. Joren had walked away with a broken nose, several pulled muscles, and a sprained wrist, along with the common cuts and bruises. Vincent probably had a broken foot and two black eyes, 

while Zahir had a broken finger, two broken toes, a sprained ankle, and a bloody nose. Kel and Iliana clearly felt that their opponents had gotten the worst of it, and were proud of themselves for causing it.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

When they arrived at Daine and Numair's rooms, both girls had already agreed that they could tell the three older people exactly what had happened. Alanna and Daine would probably be proud of them, and Numair would just be exasperated. Timidly, Iliana knocked on the door. It was Daine that came to the door. She gasped when she saw who it was, which quickly brought Alanna and Numair to the door.

"What in the gods' name happened to you two?" Daine exclaimed while ushering them into the room.

"We got in a fight with Joren and his cronies. They were picking on some first-year again, and we put a stop to it," Kel explained. Alanna shook her head, and sat the two down.

"Alanna? Can I try to heal myself?" Iliana asked eagerly. Alanna nodded, knowing the girl could easily fix whatever she was broken or bruised, and turned her attention to Kel. "Oh, and Lord Wyldon told me to give this to all of you," Iliana gave them letter to Numair, then closed her eyes, calling upon her Gift. Numair read it as the pain in her fingers, eyes, and nose faded and her eyesight came back. After she had fused her broken fingers, Iliana went to work on the cuts and bruises she had acquired, making quick work of them. Finally, she eased the pain in her back, probably a result of a pulled muscle.

Opening her eyes, she saw Alanna had finished with Kel, who now looked much better. Iliana gave her friend a toothy grin, before turning somberly to her guardians. Numair had finished the letter and was now sitting with his head in his hands, rubbing his temples as Daine and Alanna read the letter. Iliana and Kel sat patiently, waiting for them to finish.

"Is this all true, Iliana? Did you two really fight with Joren?" asked Daine.

"We already told you that we did. They were picking on a first-year, and not how older pages are supposed to, either. They were deliberately pushing things off tables and making the boy clean it up. That's not right," Kel said, clenching and unclenching her fists. This was always a sore topic for Kel. Iliana just nodded and looked down, scared that her mentors would be angry with her, that they might forbid her from seeing her friends or maybe even stop teaching her.

"Well, _I_ think you did the right thing in stopping it, however violent your methods," Alanna said, beaming. "What I need to know is how badly did you get the others, if this is what they did to you?"

"Oh, they're much worse off. In fact, if you hurry to the infirmary, you might get to see them before Duke Baird fixes them," Iliana giggled. "I'm pretty sure I caused Joren's sprained wrist, gave 

Vincent one of his black eyes, and gave Zahir his broken finger and bloody nose, along with a number of cuts and bruises."

"And I broke Joren's nose, Vincent's foot, and I gave him the other black eye, and broke two of Zahir's toes and helped him with his sprained ankle," piped Kel. Both girls were clearly pleased with their efforts, and could do nothing to hide it.

"Good work!" Alanna exclaimed. Daine nodded her approval, and Numair continued to rub his temples.

"This is _not_ good!" he said, startling the women. They had forgotten he was there.

"Why not? It's not like what we did was a big deal. Kel said that she's gotten in tons of fights with them before, and I won't let people be humiliated for some stupid thing like this," Iliana said, knowing she was about to get quite angry with Numair.

"Lord Wyldon obviously expects us to punish you for this, and it's quite obvious that even if I wanted to, I would be outnumbered. And you can't keep going around picking fights."

"But it's good fighting practice, and then I can work on healing after," Iliana said earnestly, earning chuckles from all of her companions.

"She has a point, you know. And she could fix Kel too. It would be good practice," Alanna said, fighting back more laughs when Numair glared at her for encouraging their pupil.

Numair sighed and held up his hands in defeat. It was no use arguing with any of these women, especially Alanna and Iliana. They would win anyways, and at least he could save some of his pride. "If you're going to fight, we'd best teach you some better combat skills then," Alanna chirped, pleased with the outcome of the verbal battle.

"Ok! Let's go out to the practice yards now and get started!" Iliana said, jumping out of her seat. "Can Kel come too?"

"I can't," Kel protested, sighing inwardly. She wanted to go so bad, but she couldn't without Lord Wyldon finding out, and he would just punish her some more. "But I'll let you know when it's safe for me to join you without risk of punishment."

"Well then, let's go, before all the practice yards fill up. Come, Iliana," Alanna led her pupil out of the room, with Kel right behind them.

"You're going to have a worse time trying to tame her than you did me, dear," Daine said, perching on the arm of Numair's chair, where he was once again rubbing his temples in frustration. "She's a free spirit. You'll never get her the way you did me."

"I never changed you," he protested weakly.

"You didn't mean too, but our love, well, it did change me. But I think it did in a good way," she smiled softly and leaned down to plant a loving peck on his cheek. "Just…don't change her too much. A tame Iliana will be much less powerful, and fun, than the wild Iliana."

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**Well, I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I had a meet this weekend, and I wasn't really ever home. My schedule is getting busier as my season comes closer to ending. Plus, as I said, I'm writing this off the top of my head, so it's taking me longer than the first six or seven chapters. I'll try to update more, and as always, reviews, comments, concerns, criticism, and ideas are welcome.**


	12. Chapter 9

**Ok, here goes. Um, let's see. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It's good to know people like what you write. I'm going to ask this again, b/c only like one person answered my question: Do we want to keep the IlianaXNeal relationship, or should they break up, and I create an IlianaxOC relationship. I want you guys to choose b/c I can't decide!! I'm going to introduce my OC for the possible relationship in this chapter so you guys know what he's going to be like before you choose. Also, I 'm really sorry it takes so long for me to update, but I have a really busy schedule. I promise I'll try to get better with that. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: You guys know the drill.**

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_"Chioke," that voice sounded oddly familiar too Iliana, but she couldn't place it. She frowned, wracking her brain as she listened to the conversation taking place before her. "Report on your charge's status."_

_"She is learning quickly, more so than I would have imagined possible. You were wise in choosing her as your vessel. She learns so quickly because she knows that many people and the fate of all the realms rely on her," Chioke replied calmly. Iliana wished she could see whoever Chioke was talking to. "She seems to have already mastered things that many people spend lifetimes mastering. Soon, we may need to appoint different teachers. I don't know how much more they can teach her."_

_Iliana gasped in shock. She didn't want different teachers. She liked Daine and Alanna and Numair. They were nice and they understood her. Besides, who was more knowledgeable then them. From what she had learned, no one. She could feel tears prickling the corners of her eyes. She shook them away and focused her attention back on the conversation she couldn't see._

_"-no way. You know that better than I do. Now, I believe there is nothing else to discuss. Dismissed," the great voice boomed. Suddenly, a flash blinded Iliana and she fell back into the Dream World._

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Iliana awoke with a jolt. Looking down, she found that she had kicked all her blankets to the floor. She felt cold and clammy, and realized that she had sweated through her nightgown. The dreams she had had, besides the one that, to her, didn't seem like a dream, had been nightmares, most ending with her or her friends dead. She had started to think that maybe that was how it would end if she wasn't careful. She would not let that happen. She had to protect them.

She didn't know how long she sat like that, in that trance-like state. It finally ended when Nali shoved her over. The maid had quickly become comfortable with Iliana, and now treated her like she would treat any of her friends.

"Ow! What was that for?" Iliana asked, rubbing her head. She had bumped it going down.

"You were sitting there like a mummy, so I woke you up," Nali said with a shrug. "Besides, if you don't wake up, you'll be late to your lesson with Daine. You have about 10 minutes."

That got Iliana's attention. She jumped out of bed, ripping off her still-damp nightgown while running into her dressing room. She grabbed the first pair of breeches she saw and yanked them in. Whirling around to find a tunic to wear with them, she came face to face with Nali, who had followed her in. Nali held up a tunic wordlessly, and Iliana grabbed it, nodding her thanks as she yanked it on. She ran out of the tiny room, rushing around her room, trying to locate her textbook. (A/N: Remember the book Numair gave Daine? That one.) Finally she found it on her desk. Grabbing it she turned, running out the door, which Nali had opened and was standing next to, holding out a napkin. Iliana grabbed it as she ran, grinning as she opened it to find a biscuit that appeared to be filled with meat and cheese. She bit happily into it as she ran to Daine's room.

She skidded to a halt in front of the door. Pausing to adjust her clothing, she knocked three times, then took another bite of her breakfast. It was a few moments before Daine opened the door.

"Oh, Iliana, it's you. I thought you were going to be late," Daine said, a smile playing across her face. She knew this girl well enough to know that she had only just awoken.

"Yeah, but I wasn't," Iliana gave Daine a smile, and followed her into the room.

"So did you read your lessons?"

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Iliana knocked lightly on the door that she had been staring at for five minutes, silently debating whether or not it was a good idea for her to show up early, just so she could have some "one-on-one" time with Neal. She decided that it couldn't turn out that bad.

"Yeah?" Neal said as he opened the door. "Oh, Iliana, it's you."

"Yes, it's me. Were you expecting someone else?" she said, narrowing her eyes at him. She knew that he wasn't, but it was always so fun to mess with him, especially when he was so gullible. "Well?"

"N-no! I wasn't! I mean…just not…uhhh..," he stammered, eyes wide in panic.

"I'm kidding Neal. Calm down," she said, giggling at his expression. "Your face right now is priceless."

"That was not very nice," he informed her, moving to the side so she could enter his room, closing the door behind her. She set her books in her usual spot and sat, picking up one of Neal's books and flipping casually through it.

"Nobody ever said I had to be," she informed him in the same tone, gaze never leaving the book. It wasn't until she felt him behind her on the bed, his breath warming her neck, that she put down the book. She turned slowly to the side and pulled him up next to her. Winding her arms up his chest and around his neck, she pulled him into a kiss. His hands quickly found their way to her hips, pulling her body to his.

She tilted her head up, waiting for him to deepen the kiss, still running her hands through his hair. Slowly, timidly, she slid her hands down his back, then up under his shirt. She smoothed her hands over his back, feeling the taut muscles ripple under her touch. She eased her hands around to his stomach, peppering feather-light touches up his chest. He pulled her into his lap and pulled the tie out of her hair, running his hands through it, reveling in its softness.

"Are you in there Neal? Hello?" someone was at the door. Iliana jumped up from the bed and went to sit in the corner of the room where her stuff was. The knock came again. "Nealan, I know you're in there! Now open this door and let me in!"

Neal visibly relaxed when Kel said me. She already knew of the relationship, and he didn't want the boys to find out this way. He opened the door slightly, poking his head out to look around, then opened the door wider, admitting Kel. He propped it open so that everyone else could come in as they arrived. Kel just shook her head, and walked into the room, pausing only slightly when she saw a pink, slightly disheveled Iliana sitting on the floor, an open book in her lap. Iliana looked up sheepishly, then quickly went back to her work. Kel sighed and took her usual spot next to Iliana on the floor.

"One of these days, it won't be just me, you know," Kel said casually, pulling her maths assignments from her sheaf of papers, quickly getting to work on it.

"We'll deal with that day when it comes," Neal said as Merric and Seaver walked into the room, Faleron and Esmond right at their heels. Roald came a few minutes later, and Cleon a few after that. None of them seemed to notice that Iliana and Neal looked a bit distraught and Kel had her Yamani face halfway up.

Patrol that night turned up nothing out of the ordinary, which was good because Kel had only just finished her punishment work from the last fight they had gotten into. Iliana didn't have to worry about that, because Alanna and Daine loved hearing about her adventures, and Iliana loved telling about them. As long as Numair wasn't in the room, that is, as he always had a disapproving look on his face. Daine assured her that it was only because he always thought things were better solved without violence, and that things like this weren't, but it still bothered her. She didn't want to make him disappointed in her.

Iliana fell into bed exhausted that night. She simply did not understand etiquette. It was stupid and boring. Why couldn't one person just say hello to another person any way they wanted? Those were her last thoughts before she drifted into a dreamless slumber.

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Today was Iliana's day off. She had no lessons except those that she wanted to teach herself. The first thing she always did on her days off was visit Moonpie with some treats begged from the kitchens. She walked into the stables and stopped to breath in the familiar scent of hay and horses. She looked warily around, never liking others to watch when she visited Moonpie. Seeing no one, she walked towards her mare's stall, which was near the back.

Many of the other horses sensed her and stuck their massive heads out to greet her. She patted each on the nose, stopping momentarily to talk to some. When she finally reached Moonpie's stall, she was covered in horse hair and spit. Opening the door, Iliana went to greet her mare, who was waiting expectantly for the treats in Iliana's pocket. Iliana giggled and drew an apple from one of her pockets and held it out to the horse, who reached for it happily.

"So, how do you like the palace so far?" Iliana found talking to her horse out loud was much easier than mind-speak.

_'The hostlers are nice, and some of them can almost understand me, but in a different way than you. Plus, they feed me very good oats,'_ Moonpie replied. Finished with the apple, she nudged her friend, trying to find the carrots she knew Iliana possessed. Iliana laughed and got them out, feeding them one by one to Moonpie.

"That's nice. No one has been cruel to you right? None of the two-leggers or the other horses?"

_'No. They wouldn't dare, when I have you,'_ Moonpie said pointedly. _'But enough of my life. How are you're lessons going? Daine told me you have to learn all sorts of weird things. Horses never have to bother with history and such.'_

Iliana laughed at this. Moonpie constantly told her that her life would be much easier if she just became a horse. She was about to reply when she heard a noise, followed by a curse. Startled, she rushed out of Moonpie's stall to come face-to-face with a boy. He looked to be only a few years older than she, though you could never be sure. He had tripped over some tools that had been lying on the ground, and was now covered in hay. Iliana looked at him angrily as he got to his feet.

"You know, it's not polite to snoop," she informed him.

"I wasn' snoopin'!" he exclaimed. "I work here and I heard someone talking to a horse, so I came t'see what was goin' on!"

"You still shouldn't have snuck up like that."

"Sorry! Geez!" he was staring at her. She sighed. She may get that look a lot, but she hated it all the same. "Who're you, anyways? I ain't seen you around afore."

"I'm Iliana. I'm a student here," she explained, trying not to stare at him as well. He was handsome, she had to admit. He had curly black hair and blue eyes, almost the color of the sky. His face 

was chiseled and angled, and Iliana knew many court ladies would kill for cheekbones like his. He smiled at her, and she realized that he had one of the most gorgeous smiles she had ever seen. He was tall, more so than even her, and Iliana guessed he was about 6'2" or so, and he had a slim, muscular build. She couldn't help but wonder what his abs looked like. When she realized what she was thinking, she quickly reprimanded herself. You have Neal, remember? "Who are you?"

"I'm Travis. You're a student? Do you mean a page?"

"No, I'm a student of Daine, Alanna, and Numair," she didn't bother explaining who they were. Everyone knows them.

His brow wrinkled in confusion. "All of them? Why?"

"Well, I'm a healer, so I have Alanna. I also have the Gift, so, Numair. And I'm a wildmage, so I have Daine."

"Really? You have all of those? I've never heard of that afore," he was still confused, she could tell. She had spent enough time with pages to know that they had to have things basically spelt out for them.

"Yep, I'm pretty much one-of-a-kind," she said with a grin. "I was told that I'm a gods' vessel, and that I'm gonna be needed soon, so I have to learn all this stuff. I also take combat lessons from Alanna and some of the pages lessons, just in case."

His face at this was priceless. Some people just have a hard time believing, she thought. Faleron, Esmond, and Cleon had reacted the same way. Oh well, she thought. He'll get over it.

"I have to go now. I'm meeting some friends to go to the city," she said, interrupting whatever thoughts were running through his head. "I'll see you around, Travis."

"Yeah," he said, turning to pick up some things from the ground. "I better get back to work. Bye, Iliana."

As she walked away, Iliana glanced back once to find that Trevor was staring at her. He didn't seem to notice that she saw him staring, so she giggled and faced forward again. Something told her that she and Trevor would be very good friends one day.

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**That's it. Please review and please, Please, PLEASE help me! (If you don't get it, see author's note at the beginning of this chapter.) I'm also thinking of making him "horse-hearted", if you remember that from Onua. Hope you enjoyed!**


	13. Chapter 10

**OK, I'm going to agree with the readers that Neal and Iliana should eventually break up, so that the Neal/Yuki can take place. This means that Iliana will get together at some point with Travis. I just don't know when. I guess I'll just have to see where the story takes me. Um, an FYI, I'm gonna be gone from Wednesday until Sunday for a swim meet, so I will not have any updates. However, I will hopefully have something prewritten when I return.**

**This is going to be a short chapter that will allow you to get to know Travis better.**

**Disclaimer: blah blah blah, you know the way it goes**

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The next few weeks, Iliana stopped by the stables more and more often. Although she refused to admit it, she was hoping to run into Travis again. She hadn't seen him since that first day, and she just felt drawn to him, like she had to see him. There was just that mysterious air about him, and she hated mysteries.

Finally, when she had almost given up hope that he even existed, she found him. She was just leaving the stables when she heard a commotion behind her. Knowing that she might be able to help, she ran back into the stables. When she saw what was happening though, she stopped in her tracks and burst out laughing. It seemed that Travis had been leading a horse back to its stable, but the horse had other ideas and had shoved him backwards into a pile of hay, which he was now struggling to get out of.

Still laughing, she stepped forward to offer him a hand. Glaring, he grabbed it and she pulled him up. Angrily, he brushed off as much hay as he could while Iliana talked silently to the horse and led him to his stall without any problems, shutting the door with a click. Turning, she found that Travis had stopped trying to clean himself up and was staring at her.

"What?" she said nervously. She absolutely hated it when people watched her. She hated being the center of attention. The only time she was loud and obnoxious was when she was with her friends, and since she had only talked to Travis once, he didn't qualify as a friend yet. "Is there something on my face?"

"Nothin' that ain't supposed t'be there," he said with a laugh. "It's just that that horse has been nothin' but trouble and none that tried were able to break him. Then you show up and you just lead him t' his stall like he were some trained pony not a wild beast."

"All I had to do was explain why I wanted him in there, and why he was here, and he was more than happy to oblige. You'd think people would realize that if you explain things to the animals, they'll usually be happy to help, especially since Daine got here," she said, shaking her head. Noticing he was giving her another weird look, she glared. "What!?"

"It's just…never mind. D'ya mind helpin' me get this hay outta my hair?" he said lightly.

Iliana glared at him one more time, then went to help him pick the hay out of his hair. "So, how long have you worked in the palace stables?"

"Since I was ten," he said, sitting down so that she could reach his head.

"Well, how old are you?"

"I'm 14. (A/N: I know I said he was 6'2", but my brother is 14 and he's over 6 feet, and he has a friend his age that's like 6'4", so it's not too weird. Just bear with me on this one.) I've lived in the palace since I was little. My mother died when I was ten, and I've never known my father, so it was either work here or I had to leave and find my own way. I chose to stay here. I have a way with horses," he explained.

"I'm sorry," Iliana said quietly, picking the last of the hay out of Travis's hair. Sitting down next to him, she smiled.

"So what's your story? I know you're a student or whatever, but where's your family?" he said, leaning back on the pile of hay.

"My family is from Tonam. It's a small village near Lake Naxon. I came here about six months ago, to study. The midwife knew a bit about the Gift, enough to know that I had it, and that it was different, so she told my parents to take me to Sheena, a woman in my village who was Gifted, when I turned five, to be taught. She also told my parents to bring me to the palace when I turned twelve, because I would need more than a hedgewitch to teach me. So a few days after I turned twelve, my da brought me here. He only stayed a few days, because he had to go back home for the market. He raises cattle, and if he didn't go back to sell, he wouldn't be able to support my ma. So I'm here alone," Iliana said, playing with a piece of hay. Travis could see that she missed her parents.

"Well, that's interesting. How old're you anyways?"

"I'm twelve. Most people don't believe that. They think I'm way older because of either my height, my hair," she said, fingering one of the colored strands." Or my tattoo."

"You have a tattoo?" he asked incredulously. She nodded. "Can I see it? How's your hair like that, by the way? And when d'you get a tattoo?"

"Well, it's actually a birthmark," she said, pulling the neck of her shirt aside to reveal to emerald sun on her collarbone. He reached out and touched it gently, like he was scared it would disappear. "And the streaks in my hair just kind of appeared when I was about eight. Sheena thinks it's something to do with my Gift, but no one really knows, not even me. It's all just there. But I like them. It makes me unique."

He whistled softly and leaned back into the haystack again. "You're just full of surprises, aren't ya?"

She laughed and nodded. "You'd be surprised. So what kind of secrets do you have? I mean, it's only fair."

"I don't know," he shrugged, closing his eyes. "Um, I already told you about my family, and you know that I work here. I guess my only secret would be that Onua says I'm horse-hearted."

"Really? Daine told me about that. Well, the horse-hearted thing. It means you have wild-magic with horses! So you can talk with them, can't you?

"Not exactly. I can understand them sometimes, and most horses find my presence calmin'. That's prolly why Stefan likes havin' me around. He's the head hostler," he said, almost regretfully.

"You think that's the only reason?"

"Why else would he keep me 'round?"

"You do good work. It's hard to find people that like to work with animals so much that they would practically live in the stables. My da had a hard time keeping stable boys around for that reason. They always dreamed of bigger things. It's nice to have people that are completely happy doing just what you do. You do like it, don't you?"

"I wouldn't ever give up this job!" he said hotly. "I worked hard for this, an' I love it, so why would I quit?"

"There's your answer. That's why he keeps you around," Iliana stood and brushed the dirt and hay off her clothes, which was easy since she had charmed them against the likes. "I have to go meet Alanna for some combat lessons, but if you ever want to talk, just ask around for me in the palace. They'll know where to find me."

Travis stood as well, and brushed some of the grime off of himself. He didn't care if he was a bit dirty. He did work in the stables, after all. "Ok. Listen, um, thanks for helpin' me. Sometimes I forget why I'm here."

"That's what friends are for, right?" she smiled widely at him, then turned and walked out into the sun. He watched her go, thinking. There was something so special about her, something that made him want to hold her and never let go; something that made him sad as she walked away; something he simply couldn't put his finger on. He shrugged and grabbed a brush, heading off to finish grooming the horses under his care.

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**There you have it. Enjoy, and please review. I enjoy reading your comments, so review!!**


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